How can you create freedom at work?
Working together with our RAW Network partners we developed a Manifesto for Resilience, Adaptability and Wellbeing – eight key statements that all partner organisations aspire to bring to life in their organisations.
CREATE FREEDOM: Make your workplace an environment where people
at all levels have space to test new ideas: to learn, get things wrong,
and influence change
What does this mean in the post-pandemic world of work?
Freedom in the workplace could be the ability to keep non-traditional hours, work from home, take unlimited holidays, get creative in how to approach immediate job goals and much, much more.
What it takes on the part of managers is the willingness to let go, and sometimes this means letting go of your ego - not always comfortable but doable! No-one will believe you trust their knowhow and intelligence if you are always the one with the ‘best solution.’
You will create far more respect and trust if you show, through your actions, that you actively want to remove barriers that hold back your team from doing their best. This is confirmed by our research during the pandemic which identified that those organisations that trusted their employees more fared better than those that didn’t. Now is the time to build on this.
Sharing your organisation’s vision is essential and a good place to start as this provides a common understanding for teams and individuals and provides a useful context for when they are making decisions.
People need to know why they are doing what they are doing – once they have that understanding, it often means they will do it even better. Get them involved by asking your team what is in the way and then ask them to redesign the approach, to try out new ideas – to learn as they go. And be prepared to let go of old practices and structures. The respect and trust engendered by working in this way can develop and grow a team’s willingness to be held accountable.
When teams have the freedom to take on more responsibility and make more decisions on their own the manager’s role develops in new ways, too. Managers who are willing to work in this way will be more involved in supporting their teams and refraining from using authority. This shift in approach can be challenging for some.
To meet these challenges, it is important to consider the following three Ms:
Managers – It has never been more important to support and develop managers. They need to be equipped with work planning and people skills that enable them to confidently implement different ways of working where they are willing to trust their teams to try out new ideas and approaches for themselves
Measurement – Measure the outcomes that result from new ways of working and their impact on team and business goals. For example, with hybrid working here to stay – it is more important than ever to track the sense of belonging of new employees and really listen to their feedback on what works and does not work, and importantly, act on it. And the same goes for all those who work remotely - track engagement, retention, and sense of belonging for them, too.
· Messaging - Share what you learn as you implement new ways of working so that everyone across the organisation can benefit from the learning, too. All of this will go towards bringing out the best in your employees, as leaders, managers and all employees strive towards creating a great place to work.
You will find a copy of the Manifesto for Resilience, Adaptability and Wellbeing HERE. Learn more about the Oasis Raw Network. Contact us for more information on how we can help embed employee wellbeing through our oasis counselling services.
Lise Ribeiro