Tag: values

Hours

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Should employees work 30, 34, 36, 37.5, 40 or more hours a week?

It is a good thing that governments discuss this (and it is not a new discussion they are having). But companies honestly should not care. Sure, there are still some jobs for which output is correlated to the amount of hours people put in. For the vast majority of the workforce though, this kind of reasoning is outdated and demotivating.

Mainly for two reasons.

First, personal and professional are nowadays as blurry as they can be. Do you get great ideas as you take your kids to daycare? Or have you ever read an email and fell into a train of work-related thoughts just before your free evening started? How do you account for that time?

Second, most jobs are about challenges and problems (or at least, they should be). Thinking that by investing on them – on paper – 2 or 3 hours more per week actually does have an impact is silly.

It probably is the case that your organisation being involved in preserving a longer working week is just an easier way to hide inefficiency and fear of change.

The people you lead

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It is the most difficult thing to understand, and perhaps the single biggest differentiator between a good leader and a mere manager.

The moment you start leading a team of people, your main responsibility shifts to them.

It is not to your boss, it is not to the management team, it is not to the executives, to other departments, to the board or to the company. Of course you also have responsibilities to these individuals and groups. But the main one, the one that defines your role, the one for which you will be measured in your leadership skills is to the people you lead.

Do you know them? Do you know their fears, motivators, ambitions, strengths? Do you know how they feel? Are you ready to have difficult conversations with them? Do you have an idea of where they have been professionally and have a plan for their future development? Do they come to you with ideas? Do you challenge them with problems? How do you discuss with them about their mistakes?

It is an extremely important relationship to build. And you have to allocate time for that before anything else.

Nothing wrong

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I did nothing wrong.

Defensiveness is often the go-to strategy when we are put on the spot. In all honesty, though, we would be more accurate saying I did mean nothing wrong, or even better My intentions were in the right place.

When somebody negatively reacts to something we did or said, something clicks in our mind that forces us to preserve our reputation. It is a natural mechanism, nothing easily preventable, but if you think about it, that “something” is assuming that: 1. we are infallible; 2. if we fail, we fail deeply, as a person, as a human being.

Both are false, of course. And so, next time you feel the urge to say I did nothing wrong, stop for a moment and try instead asking How did what I said felt?, or What can I do better next time?, or even How can I make this right?

It is only by avoiding to take things personally and by expressing a real interest in what the others feel and perceive that we can build strong relationships.

And become, little by little, an improved version of a human being.

Gratification and impact

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When you pick up the phone while you are driving, you are choosing a short-term gratification (reading the message you just got) over a long-term impact (the attention you need to drive safely).

When you speed up to pass the car in front of you, despite the continuous line, you are choosing a short-term gratification (the impression to be able to get to your destination faster) over a long-term impact (the care and patience you need to drive safely).

When you click on the notification that pops up on your screen while working, you are choosing a short-term gratification (being on top of what is happening) over a long-term impact (delivering your work with consistence).

When you scream in the face of the person in front of you, you are choosing a short-term gratification (a rush of power, or letting go of your stress) over a long-term impact (building a relationship of trust, or training your capacity of not reacting).

When you skip your daily training, you are choosing a short-term gratification (an hour or so of available time) over a long-term impact (being in good shape and health).

You get the drill.

Most of our small, daily choices are a trade off between gratification and impact. Of course, we do not pay much attention to most of them, because that is not the way we are wired.Yet, we tend to forget that the long term is but a succession of short terms, not something magic that will spark out of nothing at some point in time.

Be intentional about what you do.

Envy

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When you stop looking at others as threats to your own success, they will automatically turn into a possibility to learn, into someone who can enable your next project, into people you can help in their own journey.

It is just a matter of perspective.