Find balance for yourself and your team

About five weeks ago the UK government announced that they would fund staff put on furlough.

Whilst I was really pleased to see them put people first in this way, the “on/off” switch method really concerned me.

There is no balance or nuance to “on/off’.

People are more than cogs in a machine.

Today my thoughts for you are around the importance and power of finding balance, not being only either “on” or “off”.

The “Goldman Sachs” problem

My concern with the furlough programme in the first instance was that employees are very rarely in roles which are “on/off”.

The way business operates has evolved in the digital era such that very few of us work in an easily defined and specific role. We are no longer “cogs in the machine”, pieces that can be taken off the board for a time then put back.

Massive damage to team coherence and culture will have already occurred, where leaders have been forced to totally sideline people under furlough rules while others work flat out. If this is not impacting you, imagine how it feels on both sides of the coin?

The issues surrounding the human element of the UK furlough scheme are as a result of what Mike Driver referred to in a recent podcast as the UK Government’s “Goldman Sachs” problem, whereby those close to the Chancellor of the Exchequer are investment bankers and management consultants, looking at the numbers, not the people and, in this case, coming up with an overly complex solution to a problem an entrepreneurial mind would have solved far more easily.

This week we now finally hear the government say they are looking at modifying their furlough programme so that people can come off furlough and work “part-time” as needed.

For more on Mike’s thoughts, listen to the podcast. My thought for you today is about balance.

Leadership is about People, not Numbers

In past crises I have led through (eg Hurricane Ivan in Cayman), those businesses that thrived were often those that talked to each member of the team then the whole business and made decisions that supported them all. Sometimes that meant everyone taking some kind of financial sacrifice while still working, spreading the work there was around.

Sometimes others methods were used, but key was that they considered both the numbers and the human beings, they were not as simplistic or damaging to team feel as “some work extra hard, others do nothing at all” as the furlough system has mandated. Those companies that put people first are in the best position to thrive afterwards.

Leadership is about people. People are not cogs in the machine. We are living in uncertain times and we are all under pressure in different ways and different levels.

Each of will have a different need for balance

At one end of the spectrum, some are able to work as hard and productively as before, or even harder in some cases. At the other end, others have all kinds of other pressures so can’t function at all.

Some are key workers, some in roles not required at all, and hey, if not required at all, sure, the furlough works.

The reality, though, is that most people are somewhere in the middle, so we must find a balance.

Finding balance as a Leader

When you look to find that balance, find the balance between people and numbers, between short and long term (can you really afford to lose the loyalty of your people?), then consider each person individually, not simply their role. Again, we are not cogs in the machine.

Personal story and lesson to close. If you’ve read my posts in recent days, I now have a DVT (deep vein blood clot) in my leg. It is really painful when I stand for any period, so it is having an impact on me and how hard I can work right now.

I have much work to do, so I simply have to be very careful to ensure I am aware of and act to find balance.

I also talked this week with a client and friend who has had challenges through this that they know have impacted them, so they are choosing to take on a level and type of work that they know supports them at this time, but without taking on so much that they might need to stop and take time out. Far better to find balance whereby you can support yourself and your organisation than to have to stop altogether.

So, if you are leading your team, look to find balance, for yourself and those you lead.

If you would like a Sounding Board to talk this through with, book a call.