How Working From Home Is Changing Notions Of Hierarchy and Control

The entire economy is in the midst of a gigantic experiment, in which notions of leadership, productivity, teamwork and impact are being reconfigured.

It is not yet clear if organizations, their leaders and staff will snap back to old habits if and when whatever passes for normal returns - or if enhanced notions of collaboration and shared responsibility will prevail. But it seems apparent that interrelationships will have to change. JL


Kim Scott reports in the Wall Street Journal:

As the economy falters, teams that are honest with each other about what they can and can’t do, what the priorities and limits must be, are most likely to endure the crisis and prevail. Successful management will focus more on compassion and candor, less on command and control. Everyone will remember how their boss responded during this time. It may be our ability to upend hierarchical responsibility that gets us through this crisis. (But) it’s not only leaders who need to step up with compassion and candor. We all need to take responsibility as leaders.

Those of us lucky enough to be able to work from home during the Covid-19 crisis are getting a crash course in how we can come together to do our jobs while remaining physically distant. The experience is giving us a glimpse of the work life of the future, which may be one of the more positive developments to emerge from today’s trauma.

On a videoconference while sheltering in place, we can no longer pretend that there are sharp boundaries between home and work. Kids, pets, impossibly messy or neat rooms, and other clues emerge in the margins of our screens. Managers are now seeing their employees with a fullness they’ve never experienced before. Employees are seeing their bosses’ living rooms. This new visibility will change the way that we manage and are managed.

A check-in on how people are doing at the beginning of a staff meeting reveals a lot. Some people are struggling to educate and entertain their children, others are caring for aging parents in distant cities, others are feeling isolated, stuck at home alone. It’s hard not to care more about people when you know these things. That compassion can help us to get through this crisis and should last beyond it.

But love is not all we need; we also need truth. As the economy falters, teams that are honest with each other about what they can and can’t do, what the priorities and limits must be, are most likely to endure the crisis and prevail. Successful management will focus more on compassion and candor, less on command and control.

By the time we emerge from our homes, we also will have learned which technologies are best for different purposes. Many tasks can be done most efficiently using asynchronous communication tools: If you want your team to learn something from an informational video, email it around. But if fostering social connection is your primary goal, use synchronous communication: Stream that video to the team, ask everyone to watch it together and then chat about it.

Successful management will focus more on candor and compassion.

What we are learning about remote work will open up new opportunities for work-life balance. Most parents are discovering that their work productivity has dropped, but they’re getting a dramatic boost in intimacy. When the virus is vanquished, many will want to keep working remotely, enjoying the better use to which they’re putting time once spent on commuting. Those who continue to commute will face less traffic and more often get a seat on the train or bus.

Everyone will remember how their boss responded during this time. Did they check in frequently? Did they focus on you at a human level? Did they communicate directly and honestly and give people time to voice their concerns? Did they share information or try to hide it?

Ultimately, it may be our ability to upend hierarchical responsibility that gets us through this crisis. It’s not only leaders who need to step up with compassion and candor. If the boss is letting stress get the best of them, take a moment to see them as a human being, stressed like you. Check in, show that you care and then push yourself to take a risk: Explain why their behavior is counterproductive.

We all need to take responsibility as leaders. If we conduct every interaction during this crisis with all the compassion and honesty we can muster, our work lives can emerge from it changed for the better.