I Pledge...
A weekly roundup of the latest future of work and conscious leadership news and insights
IBM demonstrated conscious leadership in a remarkable way recently. The CEO, Arvind Krishan, created a “Work from Home Pledge” that he shared with the entire company. The eight principles in the pledge illustrate a profound sense of empathy for team members experiencing dramatic changes due to the pandemic.
The overall culture of an organization is determined by the leadership. A CEO who shows empathy and intentionally shares their commitment to their team’s wellbeing sets the tone for how the entire company will thrive through challenges. Krishan’s pledge shows his priorities for his team and how he will not only care for them, but how he will take care of himself so he can continue being the leader they need.
Take a look at the pledge. As a conscious leader, how are you doing with the items listed?
Are you being family sensitive?
Are you supporting flexibility for personal needs?
Are you supporting “not camera ready” times?
Are you being kind?
Are you setting boundaries and preventing video fatigue?
Are you taking care of yourself?
Are you frequently checking in on people?
Are you connected?
Looking beyond our current circumstances, the future of work will require this type of conscious leadership.
Here is some of the future of work and conscious leadership content I found interesting this week:
Microsoft released a study on the future of work and found video meeting fatigue sets in around 40 minutes into a meeting. Stress sets in around 2 hours into a day filled with video meetings. We are still learning how to best work with remote tools such as video. One way to help prevent fatigue is to switch between audio calls and video calls based on when you need a face-to-face interaction. And, once again, reexamine whether every meeting is essential, or could just as easily be solved via email or some other text-based communication platform like Basecamp.
Workplace perks are evolving with the times. Working remote is no longer a perk; it’s the norm. So traditional perks like an on-site gym and catered lunches don’t make sense. Monthly home office stipends, online exercise subscriptions and other remote-friendly perks will become the norm. Some companies are even providing headsets and Disney+ subscriptions to keep kids entertained while parents work at home. What services and rewards will help your team be happier working remotely?
15Five Blog offered some excellent resources to keep remote employees engaged and provide 1:1 feedback that actually helps employees. The engagement blog covers 10 questions you can ask your team to make sure you’re meeting their needs and building a conscious culture (remote or co-located!). The 1:1 blog covers recent research about how the nature of workplace feedback is changing. It also offers sound advice on how to make feedback a regular part of the workplace to strengthen team relationships.
Quick reminder for the TL;DR crew: I recap my newsletters via video on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I usually do a live video on a couple platforms, then post the recording on others. So follow me on those platforms if you prefer to watch or listen to a recap of the newsletter content.
Work happy. Live happy. BE happy.
Meredith
Meredith’s coaching helps conscious leaders step courageously into the future of work. Contact her to develop your conscious leadership and transform your organization into the workplace of the future.
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