LET GO

Leaders need to make flexibility a corporate value

By Vera Asanin

Jill starts work later than everyone else because she can’t drop off her children to her childcare provider and still get to work at 8:30 am. Bob, the consummate environmentalist, is usually at work at 8:20 am, except if the bus is early and he misses it, or it runs late. He’s never arrived later than 9:20 am, though. Patrick has to leave work for a couple of hours at least once a week to assist his elder mother with her medical appointments.

Until most recently, it was our managers who would address the issues involved in these scenarios; policies and procedures are in the management arena. Managers would talk to these employees, sternly, and emphasize how important it is to arrive at work on time. If you didn’t follow suit with the posted hours of work, it was because you were not committed to the job—you didn’t care. Everyone is replaceable, you know!

I think that in reality these scenarios are a leadership concern because they require more than just an automatic recitation of company policy to stay the course. We need to use vision to truly understand what is required to support our employees today. Leadership consists of aligning the vision and values of the organization with the values and needs of our employees.

Leaders need to offer flexibility with all working conditions, not just the hours of work, as a new organizational value. And this seems like a fairly easy offering yet the impact of being flexible is challenging at the least.

I recently spoke to a friend of mine who considers himself to be an accommodating, flexible employer who is sensitive to the needs of his employees.