How To Move People and Make Change
Adapt or Die
The world keeps changing – how do we respond? We must listen and adapt, anticipate and innovate. Sometimes we shift direction because we get new information, or because certain doors close to us; maybe the zeitgeist changes and our public wants something new.
Four-Day Work Week
We are still open five days a week, and accessible to our clients whenever they need us, as always – but our team works a 32-hour week, improving productivity, retention and recruitment and reducing burnout with a three-day weekend.
Make Expectations Clear
Integral to high-functioning teams is making expectations clear – both ways: What do we as leaders expect from the team, and what do they expect from us? Our employee-driven covenant is anchored in supporting our clients and each other so we can consistently achieve our communication goals.
Change What You Pay For
We don’t pay for the amount of time someone spends at their desk; we are paying for the value of what is created or produced, as our clients do. We measure success by the impact – what has changed in our clients’ businesses and in their communities because of our work?
Focus on Your Why
Staying focused on our purpose, our WHY, keeps us relevant. Ask yourself: Why am I in business? Why should we expect our customers to keep coming back? Why should we expect anyone to show up for work, or to accept our job offer?
Be Curious – Always Keep Learning
To stay sharp and way ahead of trends, be curious and keep learning. Read! (TikTok Won’t cut it)! Ask questions to better hone your goals. Do research. Talk to experts. Examine problems from different perspectives. We can always expand our horizons and get smarter.
Be Deliberate About Succession Planning
If you see an opportunity, grab it! For emerging leaders, watch and listen, offer to take on new projects, be specific and purposeful about results, ask questions, take calculated risks and be prepared to make mistakes. As an employer, invite employees to high-level meetings. Share knowledge and access. Include your employees in your power base and teach them how to build their own. Foster the potential you saw in people when you hired them.
Conflict Resolution is a Core Skill in 2022
People are more confrontational, irrational and angry. Front-line staff in almost every industry now manage conflict as part of their daily work. Conflicts are escalating more quickly and dramatically, online and offline. Navigating conflict is a must-have skill at every level of resilient organizations today.
Choose to Play the Long Game
Sustainability – looking at the future, now – must be core to business planning. What value does your company provide? How will you continue to fulfill your purpose and provide that value in the future? What single small step can you take today to improve customers’ and employees’ health, relationships, environment, or quality of life?
Create the Opportunity for Change
The future is unpredictable, but it is wide open for those who are primed to find or make opportunities within that change and turn them into gold.
Clara Mattucci is a partner at GillespieHall.
