Transforming Work with Sophie Wade 106: Debbie Lovich — Co-creating, Iterating, and Enjoying New Ways of Working
Debbie Lovich is Managing Director and Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). She leads BCG’s thinking on making work work. Debbie describes Harvard research conducted at BCG on work/life balance. She shares insights as to why lasting solutions must be co-created, continuously improved, and include teams having open discussions about team norms. Debbie explains why her focus on joy (and productivity) is an economic one especially as Gen AI forces everyone to rethink work. Debbie portrays the Generative Leader and explains how their intent for improvement and team approach enables transformation projects to succeed.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[02:28] Debbie loves business from an early age so she studies economics.
[02:56] Companies move too slowly! Debbie discovers quickly that consulting is the right fit for her!
[04:12] A random connection introduces Harvard professor Leslie Perlow about a research study on work/life balance.
[05:01] Debbie has no work/life balance but wonders what Leslie might come up with.
[06:30] Detailed data reveals consultants expect long hours but the lack of predictability is a huge issue.
[07:30] Leslie wants to conduct an experiment with one team testing a more predictable schedule.
[08:52] Looking for a team for the experiment, Debbie hears “Great idea, but why not your team?!”
[09:57] How the lack of predictability is experienced by BCG consultants.
[11:02] Debbie asks her important local client to support doing the HBS research with her team.
[12:10] The experiment is successful and the model is scaled to the rest of BCG.
[13:17] Debbie temporarily leaves BCG to commercialize the research results with Leslie.
[14:34] Scaling a model is very different than managing one controlled experiment.
[15:50] Data on client value delivery is key to convince others as the model is expanded.
[16:56] Everyone has to design the change—at the start and evolving improvements over time.
[18:40] Agreeing team norms is essential so different people and projects determine parameters.
[22:01] With new tools, ubiquitous work is possible with zero boundaries and much waste.
[23:35] When you constrain work, people have to prioritize and innovate.
[24:10] In today’s labor market, work/life balance is an important reason to rethink work.
[27:44] Debbie believes that work is fundamentally broken.
[28:38] In a VUCA world, employers are giving workers more to do with fewer resources.
[29:27] - The ‘unbroken state’ is when we are all in this together.
[30:32] Debbie focuses on joy for economic reasons.
[32:51] Trader Joe's employee-centric positive results.
[34:56] Why organizations should think of employees like customers—including emotional benefits.
[36:12] Gabby Novacek's work reveals everyone is motivated differently. Programs focusing only on few segments won't succeed.
[38:24] Who Generative Leaders are.
[39:18] Debbie explains the head, heart, and hands of generative leadership.
[40:54] The most important things employees want from leaders and where leaders spend their time.
RESOURCES
QUOTES (edited)
“If you want to make change stick, there has to be something in it for all parties.“
“Everyone has to design the change…15 years later, thousands think that they invented it, because they did.”
“If you tell people they can’t work 24/7, you have to think about what’s the most important work to do. Are there different ways to get it done? And that leads to better work.”
“We need to solve the needs of the work and the needs of the team in how we rethink work.”
“When you constrain the work, you force people to prioritize. You force teams to talk about what’s going to get in the way of everyone getting their time off and making it work. So it forces innovation of new approaches.”
“How do we make work more productive and more enjoyable at the same time?”
“Gen AI is coming and is forcing everyone to rethink work.”
“My focus on joy is an economic one.”
“Employees are customers too. They choose to work with you. They choose to expend their energy at work every day as opposed to just punch the clock.”
“You need to think about not just the functional needs of pay and benefits and hours, but the emotional needs of feeling supported, enjoying your work, feeling respected.”