By Kelly Hearn
We are coming to the end of a remarkable year, one in which the ways we live and work were fundamentally altered. As we head into 2021, hopeful that vaccines will usher in more freedom and mobility, it is an apt moment to consider what lessons learned will remain applicable beyond Covid-19 disruptions. Reimagining what work may look like in a post pandemic world has been a hot topic with clients recently. I am certain this will be a subject of much research and commentary in the coming months but for now report my thoughts based on work with dozens of employees and their experiences.
What worked
More flexibility. Working from home became the norm for many during the pandemic. Contrary to fears, most surveys point to an increase in productivity as employees logged on and worked remotely. While many are keen to get back to the office for at least part of the work week, most express an interest to maintain some flexibility working days from home on a permanent basis. A positive lingering influence of ‘The Great Working from Home Experiment 2020’ is likely a more open stance towards these wishes.
Establishing boundaries. Humans have a finite amount of energy and this needs to be managed. Like coaches in the sporting world, good business leaders understand energy limitations and the importance of recovery time to avoid burnout. These leaders modelled and enforced downtime this year, turning off phones and email in after hours and weekends, taking personal days, prioritising time outdoors away from screens. One firm organised an ‘all hands on deck’ day-long company meeting. Employees were told to clear their calendars for the event. When they arrived on Zoom for the day of ‘meetings,’ employees were ‘ordered’ to take the full day with open diary to use the time any way they wanted except work.
Over-communicating. Managers that maintained good rapport with employees tended to remain ‘virtually visible’ using Zoom and regular phone calls to stay in visual and audio contact. Importantly, they were checking in on the individual rather than merely the work output. Sometimes these check-ins were no more than a simple ‘How are you, really?’ but reminded those distanced at home that their wellbeing was a genuine concern. Equally, regular check-ins helped minimise the anxiety-provoking feedback vacuum that can emerge when working in isolation.
People first. Empathy. Understanding. Kindness. Comfort. Assurance. Leaders who modelled these qualities earned immense appreciation and loyalty this year. All of the skills traditionally seen as ‘soft’ were suddenly recognised as essential leadership attributes in 2020. A starting point of ‘how can we help our people cope?’ then implementing gestures small and large went a long way. Individuals felt seen as people first, employees second. One client reported his boss starting an early-pandemic Zoom meeting by acknowledging to his team it would be near impossible to try and keep to original deadlines as so many employees were also home schooling their children: ‘Let’s Just do the best we can folks and stay in close communication as to where we are…Above all, take care of yourselves and your families.’
Human face of leadership. 2020 seemed a time when people gave themselves permission to remove unnecessary formality. Managers showed up in their humanity, sharing of themselves more openly, but in a way still appropriate for the workplace. One leader I know started her regular meetings with one word ‘traffic light’ check ins – ‘green, yellow, red’ – so that she and colleagues could alert the team when extra support might be needed. In one such meeting, she put her hand up and said ‘I’m at red guys, I’m going to be offline today but Sam will be available in my absence and I’ll be back in on Monday.’ Modelling appropriate self-disclosure and self-care also gave others permission to follow suit.
Balanced messaging. Clarity on the knowns, acknowledgement of the unknowns. Appreciation of the challenges but holding ‘rational optimism’ about the future. Strong leaders were balanced in their messaging. They were forthcoming in regular communication, not waiting for perfect clarity on all before getting others involved. They kept the lines of communication open as the situation evolved. There was a sense of ‘This is where we are, this is how we plan to face it, and this is what we’re asking of you.’ There was acknowledging, naming and normalising collective fear and uncertainty but also room for communicating optimism. A place for hope and inspiration amidst the challenges helped cultivate commitment and shared purpose.
Supporting team engagement. Some companies took the time to ramp up experiential trainings such as workshops on active listening and delivering feedback. Importantly, these were practical ways to encourage connection and engagement on a personal level rather than merely skills-building (which could have been seen as pointless activity given so many other priorities). Reflective groups offered a dedicated time for a small number of colleagues to come together and discuss themes such as managing change and isolation. These groups allowed individuals to talk with unusual openness about the challenges of living and working through Covid, and to realise that their fears and anxieties were shared by many. The normalising effect of these encounters was reassuring, and strengthened a sense of belonging in the group.
What didn’t work
‘Living in the office.’ ‘This isn’t working from home, it’s living in the office,’ is a phrase I heard more than once as many people worked through their usual commute times and beyond. They worked before hours, after hours and in-between hours. With people at home and much (sometimes all) social activity curtailed, an assumption crept in that they were always available for work. This was perhaps understandable in the early days of the pandemic when companies were scrambling to adapt, and the assumption – or at least hope – was that disruption would be short-lived. But the sprint turned into a marathon, and the pace never moderated. ‘Always on culture’ was already a major contributor to workplace stress pre-Covid. 2020 brought this to a new level and left many people feeling bombarded and overwhelmed.
Micromanagement from a distance. Some employers struggled with the lack of oversight office working provides and tried to exert control from a distance, whether by digital monitoring or other. A client of mine was explicitly told she should work from home rather than anywhere else, a directive that felt an unnecessary overstep. Others sensed digital ‘clocking in and out’ was being monitored from above. Moves such as these made employees feel devalued and infantilised and highlighted a general lack of trust in these organisations. The time and effort would have been better spent addressing trust as the more fundamental (and essential) issue.
Thoughtless attempts at connection. Many leaders misfired in their attempt to create more human connection with employees. One client reported her manager ‘friended’ her on Facebook which felt both intrusive and inauthentic. Another reported his boss sending occasional late night updates and requesting employees post the missives to their Linked In profiles which was seen as a professional imposition on a personal space. My client was also left thinking his boss cared more about disseminating thoughts to the outside world than to be in dialogue with his own people. Other misfires included diarising endless meetings and inviting everyone so they would ‘feel included,’ leading to meeting culture gone crazy. Actions intended to be supportive were felt as burdensome, more about serving the company’s needs than those of its people.
‘Business as usual.’ Remarkably, some leaders tried to carry on as if we weren’t living through a pandemic. As if entire ways of living and working weren’t being rearranged at a moment’s notice. In a particularly tone-deaf example, a US fund manager went on several news channels predicting a ‘wave of higher-end unemployment’ due a lack of responsiveness among middle management during lockdown. ‘I wonder where they’ve gone. It seems like the people who work for them are constantly in contact with me doing all this work and some of the supervisory, middle management people I’m starting to wonder if I really need them.’ Where they’ve gone? These people were and are trying to hold down full-time work while home schooling children, often while managing physical and mental health challenges in their extended families. And now they are hearing from their boss on television that they may lose their jobs, adding financial anxiety to the equation? A total lack of empathy on display here. Sadly, I have heard many similar examples.
Information vacuums. As noted above, communication and information are especially important during stressful and uncertain times. Additional stress is created when these are lacking. Yet communicating with imperfect information when outcomes aren’t clear is difficult. Understandably, leaders found the paradox challenging. But some opted to stay too silent. The void created entirely too much room for anxieties to fester, knocking both mental health and work productivity. In other situations, major strategic pivots were presented as faits accomplis with little to no explanation or consultation with those affected. Employees were left thinking: Do I even matter?
Reflecting on 2020 and what I saw happening in business leadership, I remain hopeful that all we’ve experienced this year ultimately gives way to a healthier way of leading and managing people in the workplace. That the idea of a successful organisations becomes one that is intensely human, nurturing qualities of empathy, connection, creativity, kindness and trust. This doesn’t mean losing sight of important financial metrics, rather it is an acknowledgement that these are more likely to be achieved when the work environment is fundamentally a healthy one.
Examined Life works with organisations who want to prioritise the human face of leadership, and a more people-centred culture within their organisations. We believe this starts with cultivating self-awareness at the top. We work with leaders to step out of management theory an into their personal values. We coach them on achieving strong relationships, not just financial results. We believe leadership is a quality, not a title, so engage with teams at all levels in reflective group settings where colleagues can come together with unusual openness to discuss the challenges of working and living in these extraordinary times.
