Transformation Beyond Processes and Frameworks
When Humanity no Longer Takes a Backseat
How many times have you heard “we’re like family” in the workplace?
If you’ve ever been employed in the last 20 years, I’d assume that you’ve heard this in almost every employment you’ve had. And I understand - we spend so much time working, that we grow close to our coworkers. We learn about who they are, what they like to do, their families, their happy celebrations and their struggles. It almost feels like family, but not quite.
As thousands have found out in recent months, it’s anything but family-like.
Do we really love our people?
Companies pride themselves on being forward-thinking, consistently developing new processes and frameworks to deliver quality to the customer and boost their bottom line.
And of course they do. Solving problems for customers and making money from it is why businesses exist.
But if your business cares more about getting results out the door, but not about piling work onto your people, then you’re not transforming at all. you’re just using a new type of control to meet your quotas and deadlines.
If you really care about your people, then there are three areas you should focus on:
Work-life balance, remote work, and being flexible
Operating within realistic bandwidths of your people and including PTO, a buffer for sick time, and a buffer for production support and the unknown complications
Finding ways to positively affect the bottom line without sacrificing their livelihood
Servant Leadership
I am a firm believer in making sure that the frameworks and processes I put in place take good care of the teams that are taking care of the business. Do we get every request done? No, but we get the most important things done.
We focus on top initiatives and goals, I can’t even remember the last time I asked anyone to work late or on weekends, and we always celebrate and mourn together.
The teams are high performing and are never pushed to burn out.
They are located all around the world. On any given team we have people from the UK, Brazil, Portugal, all around the US… and our stakeholders are even more spread out across the globe.
And last but not least, I am proud of every one of the team members and would support them in anything their heart desires, inside or outside of work.
Reflecting on Your Business
Today’s post will leave you on that note as something to think about in the weeks to come. Take some time to reflect one those three areas. Here are some prompts to get the juices flowing:
Are you being compassionate and empathetic when life hits your people hard?
Are you piling too much on your team with unrealistic goals, causing burn out and low productivity?
Are you putting safeguards in place financially so you don’t have to resort to layoffs when you have a bad quarter or a bad year?
As a final takeaway - keep this in mind:
It rains on us all sooner or later. Today it could be Sally’s misfortune, tomorrow it could be yours. Wouldn’t you love to work in a company that would stand by you during the worst times? I’m sure Sally would too.
If you have a lack of true priorities, too much to do and too little done, a budget thrown out the window, and your people are burnt out, then this guide is for you.
In it, we'll dig into:
5 common myths and mistakes and what you should do instead
Quick steps to get you implemented in 90 days
Discussion points for every area of your business, inside and out
Ready to improve your resiliency?
If you want to go deeper with me, then subscribe to my Substack to receive the more specific training via email! I’ll be posting insights, exercises, and more on Substack in upcoming weeks!