Dear Leaders,
During my career, I have worked in house, agency side and had my own consultancy and a few unsuccessful side hustles.
When you work agency side, it was (and mostly still is) as someone senior you have to be visible and has to be perceived someone whos committed – basically be there late.
In the majority of startups you are expected to work more than the core hours and available, do what is necessary.
When you become senior within organisations there is an unspoken and unwritten rule you should almost always be available. Whether that’s on the phone, late-night emails, long slack threads and early morning and late-night Zoom’s with other regions.
Is any of this effective?
Is this efficient?
Is this right?
No!
I have spoken previously on the internal dilemmas work ethic can have and how I used to think my ability to outwork colleagues was a superpower, it isn’t as it is not scaleable.
The best companies I have worked in or worked with enable people to thrive by working smartly, rewarding working hard and celebrating others around them.
Great company culture should guide values and behaviours, reward behaviours and never ever reward bad behaviours.
So why do so many businesses reward people looking like they word late versus working effectively?
Can you scale and grow as a business with fear around ineffective working schedules and hours? And are you breeding the right environment for those to thrive?
Rethink how you may be rewarding the old way of thinking, reconsider how you might embrace scheduling emails, not sending that non-urgent late-night instant message or how you may be suggesting there is a dominant office or timezone for calls and video conferences.
Please remember:
Scaling and maturing businesses do not win by appearing to be working more hours, it is working in an environment that promotes great work, great collaboration and great problem-solving.
Never let your commitment be questioned because you are effective, work differently or deliver great work within your working hours.
This week consider how you develop your business out and move away from old ways of thinking.
Danny Denhard
PS Maybe Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk might agree, but the small and agile are making waves and taking market share across all business sectors.
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