In a recent article, we covered the massive paradigm shift from the traditional workplace and schedule to working from home that was propelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. This turn of events granted us a fresh perspective, letting us see beyond what we could imagine was possible: the newfound achievements in work performance, self-improvement, and lifestyle at large made more than 80% of professionals wish they would never go back to the old-fashioned way of working.
According to Bloomberg, the performance optimization yielded by the new working arrangements will boost productivity by 5% in the post-pandemic economy. But is that true for everyone? And is 5% the best you can strive for?
Here’s what you should consider in order to spearhead your team into the next era of the Future of Work:
The Power of Cultural Alignment
The first, most important thing to keep in mind about boosting performance through workplace flexibility is the following: your team will only unfold its full potential if you exclusively bring High Potentials and High Achievers into it.
Workplace flexibility might allow some team members the perfect opportunity to cruise, therefore requiring a more traditional, hands-on type of leadership in order to deliver mediocre results while keeping minimal work engagement. Although it doesn’t sound appealing, this is the case for several companies.
It is also the reason why you should make a point of intentionally recruiting only the best people, those who align with your company’s purpose and aim at becoming their best selves. Only High Achievers will fully harness the possibilities that workplace flexibility allows, make the most of them to upgrade their performance, and always strive for excellence.
Culture is the silver bullet when it comes to attracting and keeping High Achievers in your company. Fortunately, culture can be designed, and workplace flexibility is one of the best assets that a company can offer High Achievers. But why is it so important? And how far does your imagination go when considering the potentialities of a flexible workplace?
Tapping into Your Internal Body Clock
In 2017, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to a team of scientists who revealed that circadian rhythms are governed by our internal body clocks. Among other things, our internal body clocks determine how our energy level flows during the day, naturally peaking at certain times and plummeting at others. Some people reach their highest potential in the morning hours. Those, we call Larks. Others, instead, are at their sharpest and brightest during the night. These are the Owls. Understanding our energy flow and living in line with our internal body clock enables us to tap deeply into our potential.
With this in mind, workplace flexibility is key when you want to bring only the best people to your team: it sets the grounds for High Achievers to thrive, encouraging them to design their own schedules and therefore benefit from working during their most beaming times of the day. Empowering High Achievers into managing their work hours allows them to harness their peaks of energy and eases them into replenishing their stamina in the hours where their energy is naturally running low. Over time, this optimization leads to increasing levels of performance and well-being.
The Future of Working from Anywhere
During the past year, the abrupt switch from traditional workplaces to working from home pushed us into a range of opportunities that we hadn’t previously dared to explore. Now, consider this: if work from home broadened our worldview to a point where 39% of employees would contemplate quitting if they were to go back to the office, imagine how much potential we could unleash if we opened ourselves up to the possibility of working from anywhere.
The buzzing environment of a coffee shop in a cosmopolitan city, the light and relaxing atmosphere of a spa, the busy and international feel to an airport, the peace and quiet of a forest, or the gentle murmuring of the sea: there are no limits to where you can bring your laptop, or even an old-fashioned notebook and a pen, and put your mind to work.
High Achievers need the freedom to choose the environments that spark their creativity, that enhance their productivity, and bring out the most excitement in them. Unusual surroundings will also expose them to new stimuli, inspiring them to think outside of the box and come up with fresh ideas. Providing High Achievers with the chance to decide where to work, to explore, and make the world their playground is an excellent way of nurturing their tendency to pursue greatness.
A Final Word
The Future of Work is rapidly approaching. As the world enters the new era of work and productivity, leaders need to be at the mind and soul of a revolution that sparks life and purpose into the workplace, bringing good change and driving humanity to its peak. Workplace flexibility, when done right, is an excellent way to start nourishing High Achieving Empathic Givers: the change-makers of tomorrow.
Curious to explore how your company can thrive with a remote-first approach in the long run? Then this is for you. We are turning two of our bespoke cultural and training programs designed for the c-suite and top talents into a new format. As part of our effort to help leaders and employees to unite around common goals and priorities and bridge the distance caused by isolation and pressure, we are offering two entirely virtual training programs:
LeadEx is a leadership program designed for leading distributed teams successfully. Its focus is on keeping an engaged workforce while the world is turning.
RemoteEx is a performance program designed for remote workers to create work routines to reduce stress, boost productivity, and increase wellbeing despite the challenges of uncertainty.
