There is a profitable alternative to RTO mandates. Neiman Marcus Group’s former chief people officer delivered remarkable business success using a simple premise: Give people more work flexibility — with accountability for results.
The forces that shape culture are wide. They include leadership behavior, team dynamics, the presence or absence of trust, the accountability coworkers feel for each other, how decision-making works, and which behaviors get rewarded. Leaders can take specific actions to influence these factors and build the foundations for people to do great work.
Leaders can’t escape the reality that people will have side conversations in typed chats during virtual meetings. But whether these chats serve useful purposes or breed mistrust depends on how leaders handle them.
“Did I just commute for this?” Leaders need to critically examine what kinds of interactions matter most for their teams.
Fifteen years ago, the author made predictions about the future of work. Here’s what she got right, where she misjudged, and what she learned about experimenting.
