Pride as an HR Professional
I returned to Kyoto this weekend because there were people I wanted to see and sessions I wanted to hear live.
One of my goals was an event called "Kyoto University Forest of Knowledge." The theme for the day was "'Intellect' and 'Impulse' in the AI Era."
During the talk by one of the speakers, Professor Takayuki Shio-se, there was a moment where he touched upon what kind of place (environment) Kyoto University is in the first place.
The "academic tradition 'of' freedom"was born from the underlying policy of "self-respect and self-discipline" established by the first president, Dr. Kinoshita.
Through research at the university,no one interferes with what you pursue.
Even when people might ask why you keep doing such things,you do not accept the evaluations or interpretations of others.
However,you do not close off relationships with others; rather, you value dialogue.
It is a place of"self-directed learning rooted in dialogue."that is what it is.
Crossing boundaries and interdisciplinary work are not done because someone told you to.Who cares if it's valued by the world or not!
The surroundings are overflowing with people who live by surrendering themselves to great questions, driven by the "impulse" to "pursue this theme for my entire life!"
When you place yourself in such a space, you realize, yes, I am allowed to pursue things too!
Also, among the things I heard, there was a story about how some people describe the university (or perhaps the people who thrive at Kyoto University) in this way.
【People overflowing with the talent to only do what they want to do】
When introduced in the flow of this conversation, it felt so much like Kyoto University itself that I couldn't help but laugh. At the same time, no, I truly feel thatno matter what kind of place it is, we must create a vessel that properly accepts such 'humanity.'I feel that deeply.
By the way, Professor Shio-se himself (though not necessarily meaning to refer only to the university) said,"Everyone is equal in the face of curiosity."I thought that was a profound statement.
Looking back at yesterday's notes, when I tried to look up the phrase "academic tradition 'of' freedom" again, I came across a column (linked) that was spot on.
The contrast between the Statue of Liberty (Jiyu-na Megami) and the academic tradition 'of' freedom (Jiyu-no Gakufu) was mentioned in yesterday's talk, but in this column,
"It is required to act proactively and accumulate learning that embodies freedom. It is necessary to 'actively' pursue what freedom is."
...reading that passage suddenly reminded me of my first day at my high school alma mater (it's a public school in Osaka, but it was famous locally for its tradition of valuing freedom since long ago), when a teacher said,
"Freedom comes with responsibility. Freedom is by no means an easy path."
That is what I was taught. And so, what I thought about was this.
When Mr. Shiose was talking about the "School for Diversified Learning" project that he himself participated in and led, he said,
"Isn't it a sign of immaturity that adults cannot create an environment for children where they can explore freedom?"
This message resonated with me, and I felt it would be perfectly natural to replace it with 'companies for the people who work there.'
As an HR professional, what kind of environment do I offer to the employees? Is there a will there to look at each individual and create the necessary environment for them?
It is starting to seem to me that this is closely related to the 'true transformation of human beings' needed to welcome the autonomous society mentioned in the SINIC theory.
Taking all of that into account, I want to build an organizational culture where, even in a corporate context, individuals can be driven by their own curiosity and continue to face great questions, while accepting the weight of freedom. No, I feel this morning that I want to go beyond the very small scope of the corporate organization I happen to belong to, and update the places where people work more broadly.