Blog Layout
The power of tiny actions
10 November 2022
'The clock is ticking...
'We are in the fight of our lives. And we are losing….We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator’. On Monday, António Guterres’ words reverberated around the world. The Secretary General of the United Nations’ opening remarks
to the COP 27 attendees are still ringing in my ears; the frustration and the heartfelt plea is visceral. Limiting earth’s temperature rise to 1.5°C seems as impossible a task as winning the many other battles going on around the world, from ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to dismantling the oppression of women and ethnic minorities, to resolving raging inequality and poverty even in ‘rich’ countries. It’s easy and understandable to feel discouraged and say ‘this is too hard’ or ‘I can’t change that’. All change feels hard, particularly big, complex, ambitious goals. But as individuals, we have more power than we might think.
In The Future of Time, I write about how in our world of work we are stuck in an old way of operating that isn’t benefitting us as individuals or the businesses we work for. Yes there are a few encouraging signs of progress post-pandemic, including flexible working becoming mainstream and the widespread adoption of new collaboration and communication tools. Yet overwork is still a big problem, our working hours are fragmented by constant interruptions and task-switching, we’re pulled in competing directions by multiple corporate initiatives and processes, and the boundaries of our working time continue to erode. In our non-stop, high-speed work culture, there is precious little time to linger in a conversation, to let our minds idle or even have some social time with colleagues with no other purpose than to have fun together. No wonder then that many people are feeling more depleted, lonelier and less fulfilled in their career than ever.
Tackling all of this feels hard. Change IS hard, whether we’re trying to make a change happen in our own life, in our team or organisation, or across the whole of society. This week for example, we heard about the ‘alarming lack of women in executive roles’ despite the UK reaching 40% of women on boards in FTSE 100 companies. Making positive change happen takes constant effort and resilience and this can take its toll - there is much talk currently of diversity fatigue, gender fatigue and change fatigue in businesses that catapult from one transformation to another. My podcast guest Victoria Livingstone, EMEA Chief People Officer at Densu International, shares some great advice on this from her extensive experience in leading transformational change programmes (episode airs on Monday 14th Nov).
Big actions help of course. We won’t slow down climate change without ambitious steps being agreed and implemented by every nation. Whatever the issue, high profile campaigns, publicly stated targets and influential endorsements from powerful figures all help to get the message across and create momentum. But don’t be fooled into thinking these big actions are all it takes. In my consulting career, we used to say ‘change begins and ends with me’: making change happen means we all have to do something different, however small and seemingly insignificant the action. Just look at the immensely courageous women in Iran who are making their voices heard by passing on scribbled messages to others, removing their headscarves, singing from the rooftops and joining in protests. Each person’s brave action is inspiring others and leading to a swelling chorus for freedom that is being closely watched around the world.
Going back to our world of work, there are many tiny ways in which we can influence the accepted ‘norms’ and help bring about more productive, inclusive and healthier working practices. We don’t have to publicly champion a cause, lead an initiative or network or become a social media influencer with thousands of followers. We can exert our influence through tiny actions that over time have a reinforcing, rippling effort. At a brilliant talk last week about THAT famous ‘misogyny speech’ 10 years ago (read the speech here or watch it here), the former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, now Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, talked with Mary Beard, renowned classicist and author of ‘Women and Power’, about how we can make faster progress in eliminating sexism, misogyny and other -isms in society and in our workplaces. Their advice? To take tiny actions, or ‘micro-fightbacks’ every day. The CEO of the Chartered Management Institute, Ann Francke, says something similar in her book ‘Create a gender-balanced workplace’ which I read in week #43 of my 2022 Reading Challenge #ReclaimTimeToRead: ‘if you tolerate the little incivilities then you contribute to a culture where it’s still ok to get away with the bigger things’. The power of tiny actions applies to whatever change you are looking to make happen, not just in addressing gender inequality.
So let’s start the micro-fightbacks! Here are some ways we can do this in our day-to-day working lives to make our places of work more human-centred, more supportive and more rewarding places to spend our time. Call out a biased comment when you hear it. Invite an overlooked colleague to contribute their opinion. Say no to (or reschedule) that lunchtime call that eats up your work break – and explain why. Ask your client or boss to reconsider a deadline that requires you to work at the weekend instead of enjoying your much-needed downtime. Propose a different way of delivering something if the existing way means duplicated effort, unnecessary work and re-work. Pick up the phone or invite someone for a coffee or a walk if you’re sensing they’re having a bad day or going through a difficult time – even if it means setting aside your own work for a little longer. Who knows what the ripple effects from the conversation might be over time, for you both and for others.
So what tiny action will YOU take today? And tomorrow? And the day after….? I’d love to hear.
In The Future of Time, I write about how in our world of work we are stuck in an old way of operating that isn’t benefitting us as individuals or the businesses we work for. Yes there are a few encouraging signs of progress post-pandemic, including flexible working becoming mainstream and the widespread adoption of new collaboration and communication tools. Yet overwork is still a big problem, our working hours are fragmented by constant interruptions and task-switching, we’re pulled in competing directions by multiple corporate initiatives and processes, and the boundaries of our working time continue to erode. In our non-stop, high-speed work culture, there is precious little time to linger in a conversation, to let our minds idle or even have some social time with colleagues with no other purpose than to have fun together. No wonder then that many people are feeling more depleted, lonelier and less fulfilled in their career than ever.
Tackling all of this feels hard. Change IS hard, whether we’re trying to make a change happen in our own life, in our team or organisation, or across the whole of society. This week for example, we heard about the ‘alarming lack of women in executive roles’ despite the UK reaching 40% of women on boards in FTSE 100 companies. Making positive change happen takes constant effort and resilience and this can take its toll - there is much talk currently of diversity fatigue, gender fatigue and change fatigue in businesses that catapult from one transformation to another. My podcast guest Victoria Livingstone, EMEA Chief People Officer at Densu International, shares some great advice on this from her extensive experience in leading transformational change programmes (episode airs on Monday 14th Nov).
Big actions help of course. We won’t slow down climate change without ambitious steps being agreed and implemented by every nation. Whatever the issue, high profile campaigns, publicly stated targets and influential endorsements from powerful figures all help to get the message across and create momentum. But don’t be fooled into thinking these big actions are all it takes. In my consulting career, we used to say ‘change begins and ends with me’: making change happen means we all have to do something different, however small and seemingly insignificant the action. Just look at the immensely courageous women in Iran who are making their voices heard by passing on scribbled messages to others, removing their headscarves, singing from the rooftops and joining in protests. Each person’s brave action is inspiring others and leading to a swelling chorus for freedom that is being closely watched around the world.
Going back to our world of work, there are many tiny ways in which we can influence the accepted ‘norms’ and help bring about more productive, inclusive and healthier working practices. We don’t have to publicly champion a cause, lead an initiative or network or become a social media influencer with thousands of followers. We can exert our influence through tiny actions that over time have a reinforcing, rippling effort. At a brilliant talk last week about THAT famous ‘misogyny speech’ 10 years ago (read the speech here or watch it here), the former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, now Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, talked with Mary Beard, renowned classicist and author of ‘Women and Power’, about how we can make faster progress in eliminating sexism, misogyny and other -isms in society and in our workplaces. Their advice? To take tiny actions, or ‘micro-fightbacks’ every day. The CEO of the Chartered Management Institute, Ann Francke, says something similar in her book ‘Create a gender-balanced workplace’ which I read in week #43 of my 2022 Reading Challenge #ReclaimTimeToRead: ‘if you tolerate the little incivilities then you contribute to a culture where it’s still ok to get away with the bigger things’. The power of tiny actions applies to whatever change you are looking to make happen, not just in addressing gender inequality.
So let’s start the micro-fightbacks! Here are some ways we can do this in our day-to-day working lives to make our places of work more human-centred, more supportive and more rewarding places to spend our time. Call out a biased comment when you hear it. Invite an overlooked colleague to contribute their opinion. Say no to (or reschedule) that lunchtime call that eats up your work break – and explain why. Ask your client or boss to reconsider a deadline that requires you to work at the weekend instead of enjoying your much-needed downtime. Propose a different way of delivering something if the existing way means duplicated effort, unnecessary work and re-work. Pick up the phone or invite someone for a coffee or a walk if you’re sensing they’re having a bad day or going through a difficult time – even if it means setting aside your own work for a little longer. Who knows what the ripple effects from the conversation might be over time, for you both and for others.
So what tiny action will YOU take today? And tomorrow? And the day after….? I’d love to hear.
Enjoyed reading this? Share it with others
Recent blogs
Growing successfully as a business means first letting go of old ways of operating; only then can people fully embrace the new.
Teams are what make or break business performance. With a relatively small investment in each team, your retention rates, employee engagement scores, and productivity measures will go up.
How to encourage this in a way that works for your business. There is a real and urgent need to address the creeping norm of employees working all hours, being contactable and available all the time. But Labour’s recent abandoning of a legal ‘right to disconnect’ in favour of a voluntary code of practice is probably the right move, in my humble opinion. Here are 5 reasons why, 5 ways to make switching off a win/win for you and your organisation, and 5 positive actions to put into practice now. Why legislation is too blunt a tool: Heavy-handed legislation will probably antagonise businesses, not secure their support. There's more to do first to spotlight organisations that are managing the boundaries well between working & non-working time well and proving the business benefits. It’s too early to say confidently how well similar legislation has worked abroad. Australia only adopted this last month; the longer-standing fine-based approach in France and Portugal isn't proven as an effective deterrent. Human-centred organisations are probably already paying attention to this, being creative about work boundaries and using their approach to enhance their employer brand. They'll be the ones who proactively adopt the code of practice and make it genuinely part of ‘the way we work here’ - and they'll win at attracting and retaining talented people longer-term as a result. ‘But clients will go elsewhere’. This is the defence I often hear in rejection of proposals like the right to disconnect. No, client won't IF you engage them in the change and show them that it means they get to access your sharpest minds working at their best,. When organisations see their early-adopter competitors living the code and still winning & keeping desirable clients - and nabbing theirs - they’ll swiftly follow suit. Let’s be clear: some people will continue to say yes to high pay/exciting work in return for ‘you’ll work whenever when we need you ‘. But it’ll be a transactional relationship lasting for as long as it benefits the individual (or employer) and no longer. Easy come, easy go. If that’s your philosophy as an employer: own it and be transparent. Don’t sign the code and pay it lip service. If yours IS an organisation that wants to do better at encouraging employees to switch off, try: 1. Using Labour’s shift to open up conversations at work about pressures to communicate or be available after hours. 2. Adding ‘we support the right to disconnect’ in your recruitment material and having examples to share with candidates during interviews. 3. Supporting selected managers and their teams to trial different experiments around switching off. 4. Asking people ‘how can we help you do to your best work within your normal working hours?’. ‘What gets in the way of this?’. 5. Setting up an industry-wide collaboration to trial different ways of achieving the same outcome. Asynchronous and flexible working are here to stay and bring many benefits to individuals and their employers. But they can make it a challenge to co-ordinate and communicate within teams and across time zones. Here's what you can do personally to uphold the right to switch off and respect other people's non-working time: Add an email footer like: 'I'm sending this now because it suits me but I'm not expecting a response outside of normal working hours'. Work offline if you're working late evenings or weekends, so you're not visible on Teams/whatever channels you use, and schedule your emails to send the next day to avoid the ripple effect of people responding immediately. If people on your team have repeatedly worked late or sacrificed home lives to help reach a deadline, then give them some time back straight afterwards. It's simple and effective. If you're a manager, find out people's preferences around being contacted - or not - during out of hours or when on leave. Everyone's different, so make it your job to know. See annual leave as an opportunity for a colleague to step up and have some stretch experience by covering for you, with support beforehand. Then switch off properly and don't muddy the water by dipping in and out unasked. Listen to my podcast conversation with Ben Higgins, Global CHRO of Wholesale Banking at Societe Generale, about how he does this. These examples are about applying #timeintelligence. If you want to know more about my #timeintelligence sessions for leaders, teams and individuals, get in touch . And if you're making good progress in your organisation on switching off - or at least trialling a few changes - then I'd love to hear more. During normal working hours, of course.
Managing the school holiday juggle and announcing book 2!
What does it cost us to be always rushing ahead? What are we missing by not pausing to look back?
When sticking stops. A barn owl perched observantly on a post in front of me, a heron gliding by like a feathered Concorde with its wings tucked in. Just two of the birds I’ve spotted today whilst working at UK’s only family-owned and managed National Nature Reserve, at Elmley in Kent. I’m not working in the sense of checking on wildlife and mending fences, I’m working in the sense of enjoying an indulgent writing retreat in glorious isolation, tucked away in a definitely-not-roughing-it wooden cabin complete with outdoor tub overlooking meadows and marshes (more pics here ). This retreat is both a long-anticipated birthday gift from my family and the official starting point for writing my second business book. It’s been brewing in my head for months and is now begging loudly to be given some proper love and attention. So here I am, off-grid in every sense with nowhere else to go and nothing else to do for 24 hours than plan and write. Write what? I hear you ask…
What does time off mean to you? How well do you 'not work'?
I waved a Minion off to school yesterday for World Book Day. At least my 12 year old daughter now sorts out her own WBD outfit thank goodness, and there’s now another 364 days before WBD rolls around again. But we’re not done for this week because it's International Women’s Day today! In recognition of this global celebration of women’s contribution to work and society, every day this week I’ve been sharing a statistic on Linked In that describes how women are impacted by our 'time culture' at work. If ‘time culture’ is a new expression to you a) you obviously haven’t read my award-winning business book The Future of Time yet and b) it means our attitudes, behaviours and expectations around the way we spend our time at work. What gets valued and rewarded, what doesn’t. What we spend much of our time on, what we don’t spend so much time on (but ought to). Because surprise, surprise, women are disadvantaged by our ‘time culture’ in several ways. Here are my top five.
Making change stick. Recently, I’ve been tuning in regularly to the 'Just One Thing' podcast by Dr. Michael Mosley. In each 15-minute episode, Michael delves into a single, manageable change that can enhance our health and extend our lifespan. Thanks to him, I’m keeping up my green tea ritual (that was a quick win), incorporating daily planks into my exercise routine (right after my morning run - oof) and reheating leftover carbs. I’m a bit of a podcast butterfly and I’m wondering why this podcast has stuck firmly now as a favourite. Besides Dr. Mosley's warm and reassuring tone, I think it boils down to 3 things. Firstly, focusing on just one thing feels refreshingly attainable. Let's face it, we're bombarded with complex self-improvement strategies daily. Who wants a whole industry of new ‘to do’s to implement, remember and track? Secondly, the changes are entirely within my control. I don't need anyone's permission to start planking in my bedroom, even if it does provide my husband with daily amusement. I can make these changes tomorrow, better still, today. Thirdly, the advice is specific and the outcomes are clear. I know precisely what to do and whether it’s working. Whether it's keeping my blood pressure in check or reducing blood sugar spikes, the benefits are measurable. Now, shifting gears to my work life, I find parallels between Dr. Moseley's approach and my Time-Intelligent Teams workshops. These workshops aim to enhance teams' productivity and enjoyment at work – to help people to invest their time more effectively. We focus on one collective and one individual change that are within the team's control. Through reflection, brainstorming, and laughter, teams identify actionable steps to work smarter, not harder. The feedback from these workshops has been resoundingly positive with managers reporting improved communication, higher levels of commitment to the change and more cohesive teamwork. Of course the power of ‘just one thing’ is that once you’ve mastered that one change and it has proven it’s value, it simply becomes part of how you do things. Which leaves you free to cast around for the next ‘just one thing’ that could also have a transformative effect. And another after that. That’s why, to my amazement, wall squats have joined my daily exercise routine and I’m evangelising about the benefits of cooked tomatoes. I just need to find Michael’s episode on why sticky toffee pudding will reverse the ageing process…..