How do you balance consistency with flexibility in your policies?

There are two types of policies: constraining and enabling. Constraining policies are about forbidding certain behaviours. Enabling policies are about making other behaviours possible and more likely. Enabling policies are obviously more empowering, but as with any strength, they can be maladaptive without balance. So, it's useful to think about enabling policies as a set. For example, the benefits of offering flexible maternity or paternity leave must be balanced against the need for fairness between staff. As leader, you can involve the team in resolving those conflicts and capture the key points in guidance documents. Policies that are shaped by the team are likely to be more in line with their values and more embraced.

Knowing Our Purpose: Before crafting any policy, let's ensure we understand its purpose. Each policy should have a clear link to our campaign's vision, mission, and strategy. It's essential to ask: How does this policy contribute to our overarching goals? How does it benefit our supporters, volunteers, and stakeholders? By grounding our policies in purpose, we can communicate their importance effectively and make informed decisions about their design and application.

I believe a good balance between "norms" and "policies" is relevant in the modern organization's context. Norms give guidelines on behavior based on what's accepted by the members of the community (in this case, employees of the organization); while rules draw hard lines on what to do and not to do. The former depends on a strong organizational culture that guides actions; the latter is a top-down instruction.

Policies are meant to clarify ambiguity and inconsistency in any organizational context. Some policies may be non-negotiable, such as zero-tolerance bullying, while others may be flexible and addressed based on a situational basis. It is crucial to review policies regularly to determine which ones are non-negotiable and which ones are flexible based on the current environment. Flexible policies empower employees. If the issues are not against the values and principles of your organization, it’s a no-brainer to have a flexible approach. If executed efficiently, you can create a culture that fosters trust, collaboration, and innovation while ensuring that your policies are clear, consistent, and aligned with your goals and values.

In my opinion the more you involve your team the better outcome waits on the other side. They feel personal to that policy and they get much more involved in that process which helps them achieve greater goals. In the end you will be the one implementing them but listening to your teams is a better way to solve problems and identify the gaps in what ever you are doing.

Yes! Definitely 100% involve your team those are the one's that abide by new policies in place, and hearing out their opinion MATTERS! Initiating open-discussion on feedback, adds value to trust that your teammates will enact in you as a leader!

Involving Our Team: Our campaign team is a valuable resource for policy input. Involving them in the policy-making process not only garners diverse perspectives but also ensures that those who implement these policies are part of the decision-making. Team involvement leads to better-designed policies, greater buy-in, and empowered decision-making within policy boundaries.

Involving your team in the policy-making process can be beneficial in many ways. It can help you gain valuable insights, feedback, and buy-in from your team members. It can also empower your team to make decisions and solve problems within the boundaries of your policies. However, it is important to note that involving your team in the policy-making process can be time-consuming and may require additional resources. You may need to provide training or support to ensure that your team members have the skills and knowledge they need to participate effectively.

An example of involvement of the teams to be consistent but also flexible is to be creative The team can create tools from the gaming world that help maintain routine but also create inside competition with prizes that helps the consistency Listen to their ideas . Follow new ways to improve the team moral which is a key for maintainability and flexibility

Adapting to Change: Recognize that policies are not static; they should evolve alongside our campaign's changing landscape. When circumstances, goals, or external factors shift, our policies should be agile enough to respond appropriately. Adapting to change demonstrates our campaign's ability to remain relevant and responsive, and it encourages a culture of continuous improvement.

Policies are not static and should be reviewed regularly to ensure that they remain relevant and effective. As your environment, customers, and goals change, so should your policies. By adapting to change, you can keep your policies responsive and effective. One way to adapt to change is to establish a process for reviewing and updating policies regularly. Another way to adapt to change is to establish clear guidelines for decision-making.

Transparency also means being willing to listen, explain, and justify your policies and their changes. This approach can help you identify which policies are non-negotiable and which ones can be flexible based on the current environment. One way to be transparent is to establish clear communication channels for employees to provide feedback and ask questions about policies. Another way to be transparent is to provide regular updates on policy changes and their rationale.

Being Transparent: Transparency is a cornerstone of policy implementation. Openly communicate the reasoning behind policies, their intended impact, and any changes made. Transparency fosters trust among our team, supporters, and stakeholders. It's essential to address questions, provide justifications, and even consider exceptions where appropriate. This openness creates a sense of accountability and minimizes confusion.

One way to evaluate your outcomes is to establish clear performance metrics for each policy. By defining performance metrics, you can measure the impact of each policy on your organization’s goals and values. You can also use these metrics to identify areas where policies may need to be adjusted or clarified. Another way to evaluate your outcomes is to solicit feedback from stakeholders. By asking for feedback from employees, customers, and partners, you can gain valuable insights into how your policies are working and where they need to be adjusted. This approach can help you identify which policies are non-negotiable and which ones can be flexible based on the current environment.

Evaluating Our Outcomes: Regularly evaluating policy outcomes is crucial. Monitoring and measuring the effectiveness of policies against our campaign's objectives allow us to identify successes, gaps, and areas needing improvement. Embrace feedback and data-driven insights to fine-tune policies. By evaluating outcomes, we ensure that our policies remain aligned with our goals and continue to serve our cause effectively.

I have found it helpful to be a mentor to my team, engage others in open conversation and be inclusive, as well as thoughtful in their wants!

When the current manager of Arsenal Football Club, Mikel Arteta, took on the job in December 2019, he held an introductory press conference. When asked about his demands from his new players, he used a phrase that made a pretty deep impact on me - "non-negotiables". What he implied was that while he might entertain flexibility on several matters, there were three values that could not be compromised - respect, commitment, and passion. This concept of non-negotiables works perfectly in a corporate setting as well. Certain values, policies, rules, and priorities must always be non-negotiable, and these drive consistency. Having flexibility in other areas empowers employees to express themselves, and makes creativity and ownership thrive.

In my experience consistency is so important but flexibility in needed to give a period of break What works for me is allowing workers to give their ideas on implementation of the policy . Allow those ideas to be part of a long consistency and you will have more cooperation and a desire to succeed

In my experience leaders should give the power of flexibility to workers so the creativity can grow consistently is about the managers work We check, give reminders, create management routines and again Let people get the ability to create the routine while mangers are the maintenance and follow up people