Ethos is a little Latin word that describes something central to business success. It speaks of a company’s character and shared values and culture, and it will ensure you have the right people on board and sailing in the same direction.
What happens, then, when your business changes tack? For whatever reason, you switch coordinates as an organisation and start to do things differently. Recent events, most consequentially the pandemic, have left many senior executives in this very situation.
The company ethos helped them win hearts and minds and buy into the original direction their business was taking. When I’m speaking to leaders currently, however, about their approach to flexible or hybrid working, they are not focused on ethos. Process and policy have taken precedent to provide consistency in how managers approach the new ways of working. I think this is understandable because in times of crisis, leaders look for the certainty of structure, but I also think it is the wrong approach.
Make a human connection
Processes and policies are practical, functional things that are necessary, but they are limited in their usefulness when managing change. These tools will not take your people emotionally on the journey with you. Especially in times of flux, the leader must do more than manage; they must make a human connection, revisit the company ethos and refine if necessary, and sometimes win hearts and minds all over again.
Much has been spoken and written recently about quitting. If we’re not quitting quietly, then we are a small part of some great, collective resignation. It seems many of us are disengaging in some way from work as we have known it.
Various explanations have been given for why this is happening, including a mismatch in expectations. Enlightened employees have rebalanced their lives and now enjoy the flexibility that remote or hybrid working gives them. Many have re-orientated their approach to work, from career to a job that pays for their lifestyle.
Meanwhile, some employers have embraced the cost savings and wonders that modern technology can now bring to reinvent their operating model. In contrast, other leaders have lamented the loss of physical meetings and asked their teams to return, often reluctantly, to the office.
It is completely understandable that the seismic event of the pandemic has tested the relationship between employer and employee. In those sectors in which remote or hybrid working is possible, this is particularly pronounced. However, I believe leaders can reduce the attrition and re-energise their workforce here by re-focusing on their company ethos.
Lead with your ethos
Here are some ethos-centred actions I recommend you take as a leader to crack the hybrid-working conundrum:
- Remote people need to feel included. Make inclusiveness central to your ethos but do emphasise that this is a two-way street. If you as an employee have chosen to work remotely, you need to join the conversation and raise your issues
- Talk about expectations. How many hours are you working? Is this remote or flexible model working for you and your family? How can we make it better? This important conversation helps build a strong working relationship
- Encourage a culture of people being ok with taking time off. People really struggle to switch off from work when it blends with life at home. It is common for those working remotely to feel they are missing out. Embed team working that enables us to give each other a break
- Talk to people to get an understanding of what kinds of environment they can work in to help you achieve your ambitions. Be flexible about the places and patterns your people can work in. In other words, how would you work at your best if you are going to deliver what we want deliver?
- Do everything you can to help other people feel valued. Fundamentally, as humans, we need recognition and in a hybrid world, this is particularly important. It helps us to do our best work
- Make sure you consider your stakeholders. It’s easy to forget that how you and the team are not the only important people in this hybrid working equation. Your customers, investors, whoever they might be, need to be ok with your approach too
In conclusion
I have been speaking to many companies about managing the transition to more flexible ways of working. It is a challenging situation but one that I believe can ultimately be very rewarding if managed well. Businesses such as Blinkist and Pfizer were operating with a people-centred ethos before the pandemic, giving employees the opportunity to work how and where they liked, albeit within a clear framework of objective setting and with regular engagement.
Get your ethos right as a hybrid working business and your people will be more than on board for the journey; they will help you chart the new course your company is taking.
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September 28, 2022 at 07:05PM
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Company Ethos Should Be A Key Priority For Leaders Right Now - Forbes
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