Monday, June 14, 2010
trust me on this
We have heard all kinds of creative ways that people who oppose or fear or doubt the value of working virtually express their skepticism. Despite years of doing this, and evidence from sources far less biased than I, there is rarely a day that goes by that the doubters don’t come up with something to stoke their opposition, much of which makes me chuckle. Yet while laughing over their creativity, part of my role as avirtualwirks founder is to understand the doubters, and help them overcome their concerns. The common denominator among all those skeptics and critics really comes down to trust.
It takes a lot of trust to lead in life. As a parent, we have to trust others to care and teach our children, trust them in their adventures as they grow older, trust in the people they associate with – even when we’d rather not. In our relationships we have to trust that people will uphold that which we place in their care and confidence and not abuse who and what we are. Less discussed is the trust required of business leaders. Among those things leaders have to trust is that the people they hire are who they say they are, that they can be counted on to do what they are supposed to without being constantly monitored, and that the results we desire will be achieved if we’re willing to let go a little. And that last one is where it seems to me the business world in general is having a really hard time.
In the course of our work, the virtualwirks team sees countless instances of where trust is lacking in business, even when the corporate value statement says otherwise. This is manifested in bloated organizational structures that leave too few people doing work, and too many reviewing and checking it. It shows in the number of people required to approve purchase orders or decisions, to the point that big money is being made in corporate info systems that include arcane routing chains. It really shows – and is stated openly – when the topic turns to letting people work outside the confines of an office. Whether they say it or not, the real issue for the virtual work cynic is that they just can’t let go of the need to oversee; that is, they just can’t trust that someone working without being watched will thrive. But the evidence proves otherwise. Productivity, quality, efficiency, effectiveness, satisfaction, and innovation are all proven better among virtual workforces. Part of this is the demographic, part of this is the environment, but most of it is because the worker trusts in the reality of their success, even when the bosses don’t.
As an idealist on the next generation of work, I believe we’re still in the embryonic stages of the new way people perform their jobs. It works, because they do. Their bosses are slowly beginning to see that letting go of their distrust is letting in this working revolution. It’s exciting to see what happens when success overcomes skepticism, albeit overcoming it slowly. The virtual worker, and virtualwirksfinds it feels good to be on the front lines of breaking barriers – trust me on that one.
– Jim
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this is a great post!
Jim
Thanks for your comment on my LinkedIn poll. I completely understand and to a large extent, agree with the points you’ve raised above. I help organisations to implement virtual contact centre home working environments and whilst sophisticated systems and process exists to overcome the management fear of losing control, it’s still a significant obstacle.
Sarah Bolton, Contact Centre and Customer Service Expert