Decisions and New Ways

“Decision is the spark that ignites action.
Until a decision is made, nothing happens.
Decision is the courageous facing of issues,
knowing that if they are not faced,
problems will remain forever unanswered.”

— Wilferd Peterson

There is complexity to the decisions we make today and consequences tomorrow and into the future.

If leading an organization wasn’t already challenging, these years operating in the conditions of a global pandemic (and so much more) have raised the bar on the need for good decision making and agility.

The situation is not static but dynamic. Thus, a decision today may not apply tomorrow.

We will be revisiting key questions over and repeatedly. Are we asking ourselves the right questions when making the tough decision about how to run our organizations, respond to the changing conditions, and design the way we work?

Is anyone else struggling with the big decisions about when to be remote, when to be face-to-face, and when hybrid is the best approach? Are there any other ways to consider when designing the workplace and work?

What was needed in the beginning was mandated. Now we are ‘feeling’ our way forward. There is so much to consider.

What I would observe is that we are weighing the expressed desires of our workforce as the biggest input for making the decision about returning to the work. The potential rub is that some individual’s work can be accommodated with options while other individuals — such as manufacturing — must be in place on an established schedule.

While we are responding to the most competitive hiring market and anxious to retain peak performers and a full complement of skillfulness – we may be encountering potential inequities created by the many new choices of how we convene to do our work. I am concerned if we fail to make good decisions about how we approach our work design and working relationships we will contribute to fostering disconnects. This process needs to be lead. A win/win solution for all can be found if thoughtfully explored and re-explored as we venture into a new way of working together.

There is not a right or wrong to how each of us approach our new workplace designs. The solutions we try will be unique to each organization (and I predict will continue to change and evolve). However, if we don’t explore all the options and ask all the questions, we might select an approach that is good for some but not for all.

So, what are the questions that we need to ask to make decisions about current and future working formats? What are the filters though which you are making your decisions?

Here are some that I have gathered and heard:

• What do we know about the pandemic going forward?

• What do we need to do to keep our workforce, their families, and our customers safe and healthy?

• What protocols do we require to operate?

• Do we have a structure (team) to monitor and lead the decisions and actions needed to be responsive to changing conditions?

• How do our proposed decisions support:

– Our mission?
– Our values?
– Our vision?
– Our customers?
– Our culture?

• How does the format of our work support:

– Performance?
– Quality?
– Safety?
– Finances?
– Learning?
– Retention?
– Relationships?

• What technology do we need to support the way we are working?

• What do we need to learn to succeed in the new way of working?

• Do we need to consider new ways to use email, remote meeting technology, and parameters for when individuals need to be available to their co-workers?

• Are we creating any inequities in our choices?

• Do we need to align any policies, procedures, and human resources systems to balance our flexible ways of working?

• How do we measure the effectiveness of our decision and the new way of working?

• How do we bring new employees into the fold most effectively?

• What’s working for you?

• What questions are you exploring to create the new ways of working?

We have embraced a world of change in a few short years. If you are tired and muddled in all the decisions that need to be made, I understand. I would like us to celebrate all that we have accomplished, learned, and achieved. We continue to move forward…it is both exciting and challenging. I am with you for the long-haul!

Leslie

“We change the world not by what we say or do,
but as a consequence of what we have become.”

— Dr. David Hawkins