Leading in the new world.

Every month this newsletter focusses on how we #Thrive in work and life in general.

This month is going to be focussed on some practical points about how we are managing and leading within the new flexible working environment.

This article has been triggered by two recent examples of publicly visible leadership decisions which are and will back fire;

Example A: A FTSE 100 deciding that everyone is back in the office 5 days a week.

There are understandable reasons for this, many of which I support, but as a recruiter we then get the phone calls from people at all levels in the business looking to get out.

They can and will leave because plenty of employers will not ask them to be in the office 5 days a week.

Additionally the company concerned will struggle to re-hire those who leave as most potential replacements will not accept a 5 days a week in the office role.

I would emphasise this is not me expressing an opinion on 5 days a week in the office, I am merely highlighting the reality that you cannot get enough people to do it.

Example B: FTSE 250 stipulating that line managers CANNOT ask any of their team to be in the office. Office attendance is purely at the employees discretion.

As a specialist recruiter, we can see the negative impacts on culture, team communication, team cohesion, learning and development etc.

This sort of policy also undermines team leaders, who in effect have their hands tied such that they cannot make leadership decisions appropriate for the context of their teams.

The phone calls to us won't be as immediate as in Example A, but they will come.

Additionally we would be very cautious recruiting into a team such as this as it will be a small percentage of people who would genuinely thrive in such a disconnected team environment.

Some will thrive, but not many.

So what?

In leadership we have to consider both what is optimal and also what is possible.

We need to be able to distinguish between what is right for an individual and what is right for a group.

We need to be able to distinguish between the individual happiness that can be generated from short term comfort, and the fulfilment that comes from long term personal development and growth.

All of these points are going to be in constant tension, they will never be fully balanced for every person and in every context, but that balance is something we need to strive for.

So for the first time since the pandemic I am going to come firmly off the fence on this.

I believe that in the context of team driven knowledge work, for most people, most of the time, the following is the best combination of optimal and possible in 2024:

1. Teams / organisations need regular weekly face to face engagement - An average of 2 to 3 days in the office is healthy.

I would highlight the point I touched on above that there is a difference between the day to day comfort of the individual and what is optimal for an individuals development and long term mental health, team cohesion and company wide communication, understanding and culture.

2. Individuals thrive with a degree of flexibility and autonomy, and should therefore have the remainder of time to work where is convenient for them, and those days should be adjustable. I would also add there should always be management discretion based on trust. Just because someone has only been in once this week but had to stay at home for their second day due to a last minute dental appointment should not be a problem. The team culture should ensure they do not feel judged for doing so.

3. Trainees / graduates - Should be in the office 5 days a week for the first 6 to 12 months to enable the level of training, mentoring, role modelling and relationship development that they deserve as an investment in their professional career.

And this one I am really passionate about:

4. People managers need to be conscious that their people need them and that may well mean you cannot be working from home as often as you would like.

It's what leaders are paid for.

As I have mentioned in previous newsletters, Gen Z take a lot of flak. Much of this is unfair, and one of the reasons for this is that the older generations are often failing to lead, to role model, to mentor and to inspire. This is why point 4 is so important.

To give just one example (but I assure you I have countless versions of this):

I was speaking to a very senior barrister about working from home. He has barely gone back to chambers since Covid, and he was complaining about the quality of the younger barristers.

I asked him how he learnt, how he became who he is, and he talked about the incredible people he learnt from by working beside day to day, the mentoring he received and the role models he benefited from.

I'm sure you can all see where I'm going with this...

So the obvious next question I asked was how much mentoring and role modelling he was doing whilst working from home and walking the dog?

Anyway, I digress.

The point is we cannot all do what we find comfortable every day, nor can we make blunt decisions that attempt to force the world back to the way we want it.

We must deal with the world as it is, and accept that a positive outcome will always require some degree of discomfort.

I appreciate this is very controversial and I doubt that will change anytime soon.

I acknowledge that there are exceptional teams and businesses that are 100% flexible and also ones that are in 5 days a week. I would argue they are the exceptions due to a complex range of variables that they have worked really hard to get right.

This isn't achievable for the majority of organisations.

So as much as I know many will disagree, I believe that the working structure outlined in this article will be the best balance of optimal and possible for the majority of organisations and teams the majority of the time.

If you want help in how you go about dealing with this as a leader please get in touch.

I'm always happy to discuss and also to make introductions to others who may be able to assist you.

If you have a different view please do share, but it would be great if you could include examples of what's worked for your team, not just you as an individual.

Finally thank you for reading! I very much hope this is of interest and of help and please do reach out if you ever want to discuss the topics raised.

Last but by no means least - Reading tip for the month:

Anything by Cal Newport: Cal is a Professor at Georgetown University and famous for such books as 'Deep Work' and 'Slow Productivity'.

His insights and understanding about how our minds work and how to be as effective as we want to be (without ever suffering burn out) are hugely valuable and if applied would radically change most workplaces.

Have a great month! 😀