How the Future Works: What We’ve Learned from 4 Years of Remote Work Experiments | Brian Elliott
Aug 13, 2024
auto_awesome
Brian Elliott, a leadership advisor with experience at Google and Slack, dives into the evolution of flexible work. He emphasizes the need for leaders to redefine success measures and build a culture of connection, regardless of location. Elliott discusses the shift from rigid work hours to prioritizing outcome-driven metrics and how innovative tools can address hybrid challenges. He also explores the importance of community engagement for remote workers and the changing dynamics of office spaces post-pandemic.
A balanced approach to remote work emphasizes teamwork and flexibility, allowing teams to establish their own productive norms.
Building a culture of trust is crucial in remote work, focusing on output over visibility to empower employees effectively.
Organizations that prioritize flexibility in work arrangements can attract diverse talent and fulfill varied personal needs of employees.
Deep dives
Finding the Balance in Work Structure
There are significant challenges with both rigid top-down mandates and complete individual autonomy in workplace structures. The extreme approach of requiring all employees to be in the office on designated days can hinder team effectiveness, while leaving teams to navigate their workflows entirely on their own can lead to disconnect and frustration. The optimal solution lies in a balanced approach that emphasizes teamwork, allowing teams to establish their own working norms that foster productivity and connection. By investing in team dynamics rather than enforcing strict policies, organizations can create a more collaborative and inclusive work environment.
The Importance of Trust in Remote Work
Trust plays a crucial role in managing remote teams, as it often dictates whether employees feel empowered or micromanaged. Executives frequently express concerns over remote work, fearing that employees might not be working responsibly when out of sight. Conversely, employees often feel resentful when forced back to the office under the assumption that they require supervision. Emphasizing a culture of trust, where output is valued over visibility, allows for a healthier relationship between management and their teams.
Flexibility as a Key Attraction for Talent
The modern workforce values flexibility in their work environments, particularly regarding their schedules and locations. Organizations that adapt to provide flexible work arrangements can attract and retain a more diverse talent pool, particularly benefiting caregivers and those with differing personal needs. Cultivating a flexible work style goes beyond mere location preferences; it involves creating mechanisms that respect and encourage personal time while promoting team collaboration. Examples of companies prioritizing proximity yet allowing for work-from-home privileges demonstrate the successful integration of flexible policies.
Normalizing Experimentation in Teams
Innovation in the workplace can be fostered through normalization of experimentation, allowing teams to find their best practices through trial and error. Organizations are encouraged to support teams that pursue new working methods and share their successes and learnings with others. This culture of experimentation helps employees identify effective practices, thereby promoting continuous improvement across the organization. Leadership can facilitate this by actively seeking out and spreading effective strategies already employed within the teams.
Building Connections in a Hybrid Environment
Creating a culture of connection in a hybrid work environment is essential for employee engagement and productivity. Teams that come together in person several times a year tend to build stronger relationships and maintain higher morale than those who remain entirely remote. Organizations must intentionally orchestrate gatherings, ensuring that various teams can interconnect and collaborate. Digital tools also play a critical role in maintaining these connections, enabling activities and discussions that mirror in-person interactions and promote a sense of community across dispersed teams.
Remote, hybrid, and from-home work options are here to stay, but there’s more to work flexibility than just location. Leadership advisor and author Brian Elliott has found that most employees want more control over their work, from when they work to how their success is measured; It’s time to redefine and fully embrace flexible work. In his recent book, How the Future Works, Brian provides a blueprint for using flexible work to truly unlock individual potential.
Brian Elliott has over two decades of experience successfully leading teams at companies like Google and Slack. He is a LinkedIn Top Voice, one of Forbes’ “Future of Work 50,” and the Executive Leader of Future Forum, a think tank that focuses on the future of work.
In this episode, Dart and Brian discuss: - Changing leaders’ experiences around distributed work - Defining the purpose behind a company’s work style - Strategies to level the playing field for employees - Measuring outcomes based on teamwork - How to create a culture of connection from any location - Prioritizing schedule flexibility over geographic flexibility - Demographic shifts in remote work - And other topics…
Brian Elliott is an esteemed author, speaker, and leadership advisor, currently serving as the Executive Leader of Future Forum, a think tank that focuses on the future of work. With almost three decades of experience in leadership, he has successfully led teams and built companies both as a startup CEO and as an executive at Google and Slack.
Brian holds degrees from Northwestern University and Harvard Business School. He is the bestselling author of How the Future Works, a LinkedIn Top Voice, and has been recognized as one of Forbes’ “Future of Work 50.” His insights have been featured in publications such as Fortune, Harvard Business Review, and Time.
Work with Dart: Dart is the CEO and co-founder of the work design firm 11fold. Build work that makes employees feel alive, connected to their work, and focused on what’s most important to the business. Book a call at 11fold.com.
Get the Snipd podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share & Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode