The sun is out and it really feels like spring is on its way. It’s still very cold in the morning but there is now hope. It’s not just the crocuses and snowdrops that are showing, I even cut the grass last week, but businesses are starting to emerge from their COVID induced slumber. Suddenly I am going to more and more face to face gatherings. So much so that I am struggling to fit them all in.
I mentioned yesterday that the pandemic had achieved more in terms of hybrid working than I had managed throughout my career yet it is not just here that I see some of the things I have been talking about finally coming true.
A few years ago, I wrote two books, not particularly good ones yet nevertheless delivered. In them I described how work was changing and that we should adopt new practices and adapt to emerging thinking. My first, ‘Guerrilla Working’ describes how we can free ourselves from the confines of the office, while my second ‘Paradigms Lost’ discusses a new, more liberal approach to what we do and where we do it. If you are interested you can still download them for free from the website.
Since the start of the year I have been facilitating the Digital Peer group with Thea. Increasingly through these sessions I have been encouraged and amazed at the way new styles of management are emerging. While it is not universally true, there seems a lot less concern over time and attendance, working patterns and even style of delivery. There is much greater concern over an individual’s welfare, their ability to perform while maintaining a balanced life. For a lot of businesses work is becoming a social contract between employer, employee and customer. The role of leadership has become a twin track of driving the business’ purpose while ensuring a strong, healthy and engaged team.
I am taken aback how some of these things that I talked about are emerging as new truths. We still have a long way to go to drive out bad management practice yet the signs are clearly there if you care to look. We are emerging into a new paradigm.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 