Way to go?
I listened to a cracking podcast this week. I’ve become a big fan of the Franklin Covey website, and this was just another little gem amongst gems. Diana Thomas talks to Trish Holliday about creating an environment that inspires greatness. I commend it to you, and guarantee it will be an hour well spent.
Just think about that podcast title for a moment; The very fact this conversation is even needed is very telling about where we are in the world today. How many millions of souls in the world of work have to exist in a place where their environment is soul-less, de-motivating and at worst, just able to suck the very life force from them? The very fact that this podcast exists says there is a whole lot wrong with where we are today.
There is nothing better than jumping out of bed in the morning, knowing you are on your way to a workplace where you are going to feel energised, inspired and valued. I grant that it is actually more difficult than ever to achieve though. If you have your people dispersed throughout the country, working remotely because of the pandemic, how is it even possible to create an ‘environment’?
Trish underlines the importance of having roles aligned to the mission of the organisation, and a feeling that people’s careers matter to their leaders. What we are seeing in the current climate is a rapid re-evaluation by companies of what they do, and do not need. Thousands of jobs are being shed weekly and right now, I’d imagine most people are in fear of their prospects. Maybe when this cull is complete, we will see a return to some stability. Within that, will be new mission statements, new strategies, and time needs to be put aside to make sure that those that are left know precisely how they feature in the new world order, and what contribution is expected of them.
One area that doesn’t seem to have been adversely affected has been the public sector. In the 2008 crash, brutal cuts were made; I recall one Northern council shedding 600 jobs overnight. Similarly, when looking to pay a North West police force for some services rendered, I struggled to find someone to raise the invoice, as vast numbers had been let go, seriously affecting operational support. Now at some point, the UK chancellor is going to catch his breath, and after seeing in glorious technicolor the parlous state of the country’s finances may have to include public sector redundancies in his measures to recover some ground in the battle to better balance the books. So that leaves public servants in no better a position in reality. We really do live in times of VUCA - volatility, uncertainty, conflict and ambiguity.
With a destabilised workforce which just can’t be sure of what is coming next, trust is a real issue. If we are to achieve the very best we can, trust is the key. We need to know that we’ve got each others backs, whatever our position within the organisation, and right now, that has got to be the hardest thing to achieve. Managers and will know, or at least have an inkling where things are going. What do you do? Poker face it out, and promise that everything in the garden is rosy? How is that going to end? If your people find themselves clutching a redundancy notice, how are they ever going to trust again? And what about your own reputation?
The more palatable alternative is to be up front and candid with people. But are they going to give 100% if they feel the organisation might ditch them at a moment’s notice? And what about being straight with people is what you want to do, but your own manager has told you that is not the company strategy? There are some real moral and ethical issues in play with that scenario, and piotentially a real effect on your own mental health.
In a nutshell, this isn’t easy for anyone, and leaders in organisations are really behind the eight ball. Coaching has never been more important. Being able to work through the issues, to understand how they will impact on individuals and work up effective tactics to move forward with is of fundamental importance. Team coaching of leadership teams can also help open up some of the hidden pathways which might just make this whole thing easier for everyone. Trying to develop a plan without some hard challenge runs the risk of creating something clumsy which will do more damage that is necessary. So whether internal or external, right now is the time to lean heavily on your coaching resources.
Derek Flint Cert.Ed., MCIPR.