The tug-of-war between office work and remote work is pulling management and workers apart in far too many organizations.\u00a0From high above in the C-suite, leaders are asking: Can we trust the people in our care when we can\u2019t see them?\u00a0Are workers more effective in a physical office environment? Can we control productivity by tracking the hours people work?<\/p>\n
Let me be blunt: Yes, you can trust your people, even without a brick-and-mortar office environment or strict micromanaging. I had the pleasure of implementing and leading a self-directed company in the Netherlands from 2018 to 2023. This setup was wildly successful for the company and allowed our employees to shine. What was our secret?<\/p>\n
Here are three observations:<\/p>\n
A team that shares a vision for the future and feels aligned with their purpose will bring their personal contributions and A game through their own free will.<\/p>\n
Most humans like their own ideas the most, so hold forums where your people can collaborate on the best way to achieve the company\u2019s desired outcomes. Set the course, together, and be clear about what you expect from your team. When you do, they\u2019ll innovate, produce, and provide top-notch service on their own.<\/p>\n
When the plans feel right, and all teammates have accepted responsibility to deliver according to set plans and agreed-upon milestones, let them organize themselves around how they work best together.<\/p>\n
You read that right: take a backseat and let your people figure it out.<\/p>\n
Shape a cadence of communication to share progress, performance, and failures weekly, monthly, and quarterly for connection, course correction, and celebration. Loving leaders hold these spaces as supportive coaches, not as hungry commanders.<\/p>\n
Rely on the milestones and leading indicators of progress, not the hours or places people perform their work.<\/p>\n
In a startup or entrepreneurial environment, uncertainty and setbacks are fast and furious.\u00a0When supported, though, people will learn fast and pivot or persevere as new information requires change. If trials are needed, people will go to the lab.\u00a0If customer partners need to be enrolled in a change, sales teams and business developers will connect.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve worked with individuals who get personal satisfaction and joy from working 60-plus hours a week at their own pace\u2014and with others who focus and deliver the right things at the right time, working 24 to 32 hours a week.<\/p>\n
Teams who show up with personal accountability do what they promise to do, and they deliver it consistently and more effectively than teams who sit in spaces for hours \u201cshoulding\u201d all over themselves.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll plant one more seed about hours and outcomes:\u00a0When times are tough, do not underestimate the benefit of activating part-time schedules to save money.<\/p>\n
When we recognize the whole lives of the other adults we work with, we realize that 25 employees will have 25 different lives, households, and dreams.\u00a0If business conditions signal a downturn\u2014and words like \u201crestructuring\u201d or \u201clayoff\u201d start getting tossed around\u2014consider asking the team what they would be willing to contribute to the greater good to protect everyone\u2019s jobs.<\/p>\n
Many people will opt in to a 0.8 or 0.6 schedule with reduced pay and embrace the extra time in their lives to focus on family, take a class, or enjoy more free time.\u00a0For every five people who say yes to a flex schedule, one job is protected.\u00a0And when business conditions improve, your trained, loyal, and happy team will be there to flex back up to full-time hours, which is much cheaper and less disruptive than firing and hiring through predictable business cycles.<\/p>\n
I highly recommend protecting full benefits down to 0.6 schedules to enroll people in adopting short- and medium-term win-win outcomes.<\/p>\n
If we want real performance\u2014not just clocked-in hours\u2014we need to build cultures rooted in clarity, accountability and trust. The best results don\u2019t come from surveillance or spreadsheets tracking time; they come from empowered teams aligned on purpose and energized by freedom.<\/p>\n
When leaders trust their people to deliver outcomes and support their whole lives, not just their job titles, engagement soars. In the end, leading this way, with love, isn\u2019t soft. It\u2019s a sharp strategy. And it works.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rethinking productivity, office mandates, and time-tracking\u2014this leadership approach puts people first and drives better outcomes, even in tough times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32107,"featured_media":369439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[871,2130],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-369437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leadershipmanagement","category-talentmanagement"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n