Catalyst Issue 8 | Page 43

The arrival of COVID-19 heralded a volte-face in management behaviour . According to McKinsey , leaders became more intent on caring about their staff and fostering an environment of trust and openness – while less focused on customers and competition . Deeper research by Professor Veronica Hope-Hailey found that the more trust leaders gave to their workforce , the more they got in return . Having previously castigated workers for their resistance to change , a new story has emerged : people are actually very good at change when everybody knows why .
What ’ s perhaps more surprising is that it took a pandemic to remind bosses that companies depend on their workers . Automate all you like , businesses need human beings to run the show , to respond to customers , to have ideas and execute them . And if those individuals aren ’ t themselves healthy and resilient , the business can ’ t be either .
A resilient organisation is one that may suffer setbacks but still has the capacity to recover . In an age when so much is uncertain and unpredictable , resilience is an essential source of security . The defining features of resilient organisations aren ’ t magical , they just have to be taken seriously as strategic necessities – not optional extras .
Productivity is fundamental . Experiments from 1888 to the present day show that human productivity declines after about 40 hours of work a week . Why ? Because after that , brains get tired and make mistakes , so the extra hours are spent cleaning up the mess . Sure , you can keep going a bit longer in crunch mode , but when long days and weeks become the norm , people develop tunnel vision and burn out , which means they can ’ t think creatively , make good decisions or bring any energy or initiative to their work . Losing a night ’ s sleep is cognitively equivalent to being over the alcohol limit . No company seeking resilience wants a workforce that is mentally drunk , though many work their people that way . But organisations that keep their people healthy , rested and alert acquire real stamina .
Agency increases commitment : having some control over how you work . I care more about work involving decisions I ’ ve made for myself . That ’ s the big win in flexible working . It isn ’ t a charter for slackers , it ’ s an opportunity for ownership . I am more accountable for work that I feel is mine .
Work is ( as we ’ ve rediscovered ) social . Social capital – the norms of generosity , reciprocity and trust – flourish when people have the time to develop relationships with co-workers that are more than transactional . People who care about each other easily share ideas and information ; that ’ s how problems get identified and good ideas develop . It ’ s also why some companies ban coffee cups at desks , encouraging people to hang out around coffee machines to talk to each other ! The Swedes even have a special term for this – fika – which means more than a coffee break because it implies ‘ collective restoration ’.
When I interviewed leaders whose organisations had survived existential threats , many found the memories so intense that they wept . Which prompted my question : “ What enabled you to survive so gut-wrenching an experience ?” Each gave the same answer : “ My colleagues . We kept going for each other .” One added : “ Longevity counts ; it was pretty much the opposite of the gig economy .”
Unsurprisingly , as the pandemic unfolded , market analysts started to view gig economy businesses with a more critical eye . Structural dependence on workers with little agency , long hours and no social capital increases fragility and amplifies risk . Companies don ’ t have ideas ; only people do . And what gives organisations resilience isn ’ t rules and mission statements , but the bonds and loyalty and trust that people develop between each other . The health of every organisation , we now see , can ’ t flourish if the people aren ’ t healthy too .
Margaret Heffernan is an entrepreneur , CEO , writer and keynote speaker . Her latest book , Uncharted : How to Map the Future Together , was published in 2020 , exploring the people and organisations who aren ’ t daunted by uncertainty .

Catalyst Opinion

O

Robust and resilient

Margaret Heffernan

Organisations can only be resilient

if the people within them are healthy and resilient too , argues author Margaret Heffernan .

The arrival of COVID-19 heralded a volte-face in management behaviour . According to McKinsey , leaders became more intent on caring about their staff and fostering an environment of trust and openness – while less focused on customers and competition . Deeper research by Professor Veronica Hope-Hailey found that the more trust leaders gave to their workforce , the more they got in return . Having previously castigated workers for their resistance to change , a new story has emerged : people are actually very good at change when everybody knows why .

What ’ s perhaps more surprising is that it took a pandemic to remind bosses that companies depend on their workers . Automate all you like , businesses need human beings to run the show , to respond to customers , to have ideas and execute them . And if those individuals aren ’ t themselves healthy and resilient , the business can ’ t be either .
A resilient organisation is one that may suffer setbacks but still has the capacity to recover . In an age when so much is uncertain and unpredictable , resilience is an essential source of security . The defining features of resilient organisations aren ’ t magical , they just have to be taken seriously as strategic necessities – not optional extras .

Agency influences commitment

Productivity is fundamental . Experiments from 1888 to the present day show that human productivity declines after about 40 hours of work a week . Why ? Because after that , brains get tired and make mistakes , so the extra hours are spent cleaning up the mess . Sure , you can keep going a bit longer in crunch mode , but when long days and weeks become the norm , people develop tunnel vision and burn out , which means they can ’ t think creatively , make good decisions or bring any energy or initiative to their work . Losing a night ’ s sleep is cognitively equivalent to being over the alcohol limit . No company seeking resilience wants a workforce that is mentally drunk , though many work their people that way . But organisations that keep their people healthy , rested and alert acquire real stamina .
Agency increases commitment : having some control over how you work . I care more about work involving decisions I ’ ve made for myself . That ’ s the big win in flexible working . It isn ’ t a charter for slackers , it ’ s an opportunity for ownership . I am more accountable for work that I feel is mine .

People are actually very good at change when everybody knows why

Work is ( as we ’ ve rediscovered ) social . Social capital – the norms of generosity , reciprocity and trust – flourish when people have the time to develop relationships with co-workers that are more than transactional . People who care about each other easily share ideas and information ; that ’ s how problems get identified and good ideas develop . It ’ s also why some companies ban coffee cups at desks , encouraging people to hang out around coffee machines to talk to each other ! The Swedes even have a special term for this – fika – which means more than a coffee break because it implies ‘ collective restoration ’.

Bonds , loyalty and trust

When I interviewed leaders whose organisations had survived existential threats , many found the memories so intense that they wept . Which prompted my question : “ What enabled you to survive so gut-wrenching an experience ?” Each gave the same answer : “ My colleagues . We kept going for each other .” One added : “ Longevity counts ; it was pretty much the opposite of the gig economy .”
Unsurprisingly , as the pandemic unfolded , market analysts started to view gig economy businesses with a more critical eye . Structural dependence on workers with little agency , long hours and no social capital increases fragility and amplifies risk . Companies don ’ t have ideas ; only people do . And what gives organisations resilience isn ’ t rules and mission statements , but the bonds and loyalty and trust that people develop between each other . The health of every organisation , we now see , can ’ t flourish if the people aren ’ t healthy too .
Margaret Heffernan is an entrepreneur , CEO , writer and keynote speaker . Her latest book , Uncharted : How to Map the Future Together , was published in 2020 , exploring the people and organisations who aren ’ t daunted by uncertainty .