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This article is part of the Renegade Manifesto Series.
Work is something you do. Sometimes that means you have to dress a particular way, be in a particular place or work at a specific time. Often, though, those things don’t matter.
One of the most important things you can do to improve the quality of your workforce is get out of the way and let your people be amazing.
That means treating employees like grown-ups and expecting them to act that way. It means less policy writing and enforcing. It means not always telling people what to wear, where to be, and when to be there. Often, when, where and how don’t really matter.
There are times that when, where and how do matter. A hospital or retail store needs to be staffed at specific times. At Disney, what people wear is an important aspect of the magical world they’ve created. When, where and how are clearly relevant to the work that some people do.
For many jobs, though, these things don’t matter. It’s important to understand when something is relevant to what people do, and when it’s just another rule for the sake of having one.
Let’s get out of the way and let people do amazing things.
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Comments
03.01.10
I realize this post was from a while back, but thought given the content, this might be a scenario you would be interested in weighing in on.
I have been happily self employed for the last 8 months. Recently, however, I came across a job posting that seems a great fit for my skills and experience. They have called me back for a phone interview, so I think they may agree on the fit.
BUT…
This is listed as a “full time opportunity”. This makes me wary, as I fear the expectation will be “9 to 5″. Part of the initial phone interview, they’ve told me, will be to determine my “expectations” for the position.
What I am hoping for some ideas on is, what would be the best way to address the fact that my expectations include being afforded the autonomy to make decisions as to where and when I work? I fear bringing this up may put me out of the running for the role – yet I am not so fearful that I would be willing to forfeit the autonomy I have enjoyed as a self-employed person. I certainly wouldn’t mind being in their workspace on a fairly regular basis – in fact, I think I may enjoy the benefit of actually having a team to work with, as self-employment can get lonely – but I know I never end up happy in environments where the expectation is that you need to be at work to do work - I am just not at my best in such environments.
I just can’t wrap my head around a way to say this that a hiring manager wouldn’t interpret as my being “difficult” and dismissing me as a candidate entirely.
Any thoughts?
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