As leaders entering into the workplace under the conditions of this new normal, it’s helpful to remember that some of our people may struggle with the adjustments that lay before us.
Instead of their struggle being perceived as a reflection of their misunderstanding of the new guidelines and policies, more than likely, this outward struggle may be reflective of an inward turmoil to find stability in this environment.
Therefore, as leaders, there are five key things we can do now to take care of our people and help them achieve a new work-life balance. In actuality, all of our people are really like little, tiny acorns. And we, we are just like the forest, embracing them towards growth. But more on that later.
For now, let’s explore the five key tenets to taking care of our people in the workplace as we enter this new normal.
1) Re-Matching: As the work progresses, it may become increasingly more evident that an individual’s proclivities are better suited within a different division within the organization. It is the responsive organization that institutes a system of regularly recognizing and assessing these changes within their individuals. That then determines where their skill sets now best fit within the broader scheme of the organization. Rematching individuals to areas where they can best thrive allows for a healthy work environment and helps create conditions for improved work-life balance.
2) Flexible Scheduling: Inadvertently creating conditions within an organization that requires a person to be ever-present, always on call, and to have little life engagements, duties, activities or even sources of income outside of a job is shallow at best and debilitating at worst. It is the responsive organization that
allows/encourages its employees to engage in endeavors beyond the walls of the organization and, most importantly, a responsive organization creates the scheduling flexibility for this to be accomplished.
3) Doing non-work-related company events (on the clock & off the clock, and both mandatory & optional): Encouraging individuals to work on volunteer projects and or pet projects, and/or side hustle is a natural way to build value within the organization and provides a healthy palate cleanser so that people can then re-engage. As always, individuals should still be held to delivering on their outcomes at the agreed-upon times. Sit down with your colleagues and explore which versions of this dynamic can work best for your organization.
4) Professional Development: A responsive organization brings in training opportunities during work hours to help their people grow and build. Some of this training is focused on skills directly related to the organization’s tasks. Other training sessions are designed to improve a person’s outlook, character, and mindset with the understanding that better people = better people. A responsive organization regularly sends its people out to training that the organization identifies as helpful for their growth. Finally, a responsive organization has a culture of encouragement centered around employees identifying training opportunities that they would like to pursue.
5) Pet Projects: These are internal or external to the organization, school/pleasure/volunteer, a part of the overall metrics. This is very similar to organizations providing opportunities for individuals to hang out after structured work events. Team builders are great at providing these opportunities during normal work hours, which shows added investment in employees, and allows individuals to feel carefree and cared for. That in turn encourages employees to redisplay the love, loyalty, and commitment for the organization with which they are affiliated.
Doing these five key things will help strengthen our people towards expressing their best selves in this new normal, bringing out the best oak tree within them.
There’s an ancient, wise saying that says, “The mighty oak tree right now dwells inside of the tiny acorn.”
Everything that an oak tree is and has become is also what’s currently residing inside of that little seed today. The acorn looks nothing like what the mighty oak tree will eventually become, but clearly, the fullness of that potential is already present within the whole time — and THAT was me.
As a matter of fact, that’s all of us …
Every single oak tree we’ve ever seen in our life was once confined by the hard shell of the protective acorn. For some of us, the hard protective shell that kept us blocked was our neighborhoods, our statistics, our profile, our lack of education, etc.
The crazy thing is that just like the acorn’s hard shell that houses the soft potential of the oak tree, some of the very things that seem liked they kept us locked in have also been the very things that have protected us through the worst of our storms until this very day. In fact, the simple truth that you are currently reading this is PROOF positive that you have made it through 100 percent of your worst days so far — ONE HUNDRED PERCENT.
Sometimes, people look at us and only see a hard, tough exterior without making room to understand that our tough hard exterior is what has kept the precious, nutrient-rich potential of our ultimate form — our future mighty oak — from being damaged.
For me, my hard outer shell was goofing off, fighting, being a class clown, and then hiding behind “good manners” and “respectable behavior” when convenient. My approach to living — my “shell” — both protected me and yet also kept me from growing.
If it were not for the Black men who acted as the nutrient-rich soil, rainwater, and sunlight I needed, I’d still be confined within the protective (yet restrictive) shell of my own acorn-like experiences, to this day.
When many oak trees unite, a forest is formed. Forests are known to provide shade, comfort, and protection to help life flourish. Black men, as the leaders of families, neighborhoods, and communities, together, we can provide a canopy for others to thrive.
The truth is, our ability to move from great to even greater resides in our awareness that alone, we can stand strong, but together, we can improve the healthiness of this entire planet. Teaching simple truths like the five key tenets of the new work-life balance can be essential for all of our growth.
Together, we can provide the protective environment for our people to thrive. ●
