A wonderful wave of insane productivity, human experience, and resilient joyGet a cup of tea and a biscuit, settle in, and contemplate the world or work for a few minutes. The current professional landscape often feels like a rigid machine, demanding conformity and increased specialisation. It leaves little place for those with curiosity and the desire for exploration - which are fundamental traits of the human condition. But what if the key to unlocking joy, productivity, and resilience lies in embracing the opposite? Enter the philosophy of the "Wonderful Wave" - a management methodology that celebrates quirks, encourages the pursuit of diverse knowledge, and empowers people to be a unique asset in the professional world. Organisation's that surf the Wonderful Wave are those that innovate and build resilience, through giving people a safe place to explore - and demonstrate - their potential. This might seem at odds with the prevailing sentiment that values laser focus on specialised expertise, and excessively focuses on the risks of difference but hides away from the results of stagnation and wasted potential. My good friend Vee came to visit me in the office yesterday. We go back many years, as our careers crossed paths across the various roles we explored. We came from different academic disciplines, but have had many shared experiences , working in the same company, and afterwards as we built our own businesses. Over all those years we have established a close and trusted confidence. Our conversation turned to an interesting observation. Those many years of crossing paths show up on our career odometer. We've travelled the distance through small businesses to corporate roles, to owning our own businesses, and for Vee, a planned strategic business exit so that she now finds herself joyously free to pursue whatever takes her interest. In that pursuit, she happened to find herself in a casual conversation with a recruiting consultant. The Pigeon This is where the pigeon comes in. She was taken aback when, despite her significant experience and expertise, the consultant told her that he would struggle to find a fit for her in a recruitment process. He told her something about square pegs and round holes, but he really meant that he didn't know how to put her skills and experience into a nicely packaged pigeon hole. So that ended their conversation, and so when she came over for a cuppa and a debrief, she was a little bewildered at how apparently in just a few short weeks she had somehow gone from a very successful professional to somebody that would be a perceived risk to an employer. I observed that I have seen this in my work and it seems that increasingly jobs are pigeon holes in organisations, where cross disciplined skills, experience across industries and sectors, and good old curiosity are seen as a potential distraction rather than a strength. The Fish Vee talked about how some of the best people we've ever worked with are quirky and don't quite fit into their job titles. They are typically engaging and bring a different perspective, are resilient, and bring a curiosity about the world. It used to be described as juggling fish; a characteristic where a person can be quirky, often knowledgeable, and may be a bit frightening to manage. In truth, we all have some of those characteristics, and the best managers bring out the best in us. They encourage us to be who we are, and embrace the possibilities that arise. Why the Fish? Fish symbolise creativity and adaptability. They navigate their environment with grace, and just flow with the unexpected. Juggling, on the other hand, represents the art of keeping multiple tasks afloat. It's a perfect metaphor for the juggling act we all perform at work – deadlines, meetings, emails, and creative problem-solving. Riding The Wonderful Wave The Pigeon and the fish are both, paradoxically, essential to healthy workplaces. As employers increasingly embrace diversity, the opportunity is to find the wonderfully weird that can thrive in uncertain times and find strength in the very aspects that might be downplayed in old school workplaces. It recognises the strength in: Quirky Personalities: Your unique approach to problems and ability to think outside the box can be a game-changer. Cross-Disciplinary Skills: The ability to draw on knowledge from various industries fosters innovation and allows you to tackle challenges from fresh perspectives. Good Old Curiosity: A thirst for knowledge keeps you adaptable, engaged, and constantly learning - invaluable traits in a dynamic world. Never Giving Up: Those that nurture persistence in problem solving, accepting setbacks, and exploring new work-arounds and creating resilience, are those that thrive. This resilience prevents creating change for the sake of change, because issues are understood, and challenges are expected, and one solution is seen merely as a pathway to the next, better, one. Imagine a world where the most creative solutions come from those tasked with delivering them. This is the power of the Wonderful Wave. It's about leveraging the unique blend of human experience in your team to become a powerhouse of productivity and joy in your work. So, how do managers find the Wonderful Wave amid the realities of the workplace? 1. Job Description - Focus less on tasks, and more on skills and outcomes The Job Description outlines the (a) job details, (b) job deliverables and outcomes, and (c) skills. The process of creating job descriptions is highly valuable in itself. It creates clarity for managers about the reporting structure in the team, and how activities are divided up amongst the team. They make it easier to identify the best talent for the business and reduce recruitment costs, and provide the foundation for an ongoing productive employment relationship. 2. Performance Reviews that encourage curiosity, exploration, and negotiation When you re-focus the job description it enables a different conversation about performance. Talking about ratings against tasks has been demonstrated to be ineffective in encouraging innovation and solutions. A performance review that encourages negotiation about accomplishing things is way more enjoyable for everyone, and is more effective in driving engagement and contribution. Conversations about performance ideally lead to decisions, because a person must decide to change where required to improve. 3. Codebook The Codebook serves as a centralised hub to access the Policies, Procedures, and Training Manual. Policies establish the overarching guidelines and principles that govern an organisation's operations. They provide a clear understanding of the organisation's purpose and values, and the rules for action, interaction, engagement, governance, and decisions. Procedures outline the step-by-step processes for carrying out specific tasks or activities within the organisation. They provide relevant instructions to perform tasks efficiently, safely, and in compliance with established policies. Procedures can include checklists, forms, audio, and videos that help somebody work through the task or activity. 4. Induction Induction, the process of onboarding new hires, can be a powerful tool for employers to bridge the gap between the "Wonderful Weird" philosophy and the realities of the workplace. An Induction activity can be anything that you want the employee to know or do during their onboarding to the business. It can be linked to The Codebook so that there is one source of the truth., or be independent of it. Induction activities can also include pdf attachments, videos, and images. By finding your "Wonderful Wave", you can create a dynamic and joyful work environment that explores the full potential of you and your team. A New Payroll Solution
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AuthorAndrew writes about the joys and challenges of entrepreneurship, workplace culture, and leading people. Archives
August 2024
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