Listening? – Easy as pie, most people will say. After all, don’t you just have to shut up and let others do the talking? But this is not the kind of listening that counts. Let’s be honest: Do you know how your colleagues are doing right now? I mean: How they are really doing? What they are dealing with? What moves them? What challenges they are facing? What’s going well and where they could use support?
Corona is driving a long overdue change in the working world – that seems to be the general consensus throughout the past weeks and months. It is evident that through the lockdown, many companies have made their first significant experiences with remote working. Many of them were surprised how well it works and what a positive effect the elimination of business trips and the proximity to home have on people’s productivity. Managers have come to realize that they can rely on their employees even when they are not physically present at the office. These positive new experiences are an important foundation on which companies can build new forms of collaborations. So, do they still need policies then? Legal regulations that influence certain business decisions? Read more
Purpose is considered one of the cornerstones of New Work. In “Reinventing Organisations” Frederic Laloux speaks of “Evolutionary Purpose”, that companies of a new type are trying out. At first glance, this may sound a bit esoteric, but it touches upon an essential survival strategy for organizations in a world in which requirements and needs are constantly changing. Because if companies keep returning to their core values, to what drives them, and to WHY they exist, they can always align their actions with these principles, regardless of the external influences they face. Read more
Is technology the answer? This is – in summary – the central question of a remarkable article recently published by business analyst Den Howlett. The text is based on Siemens’ decision to establish the home office as the standard for more than half of their employees worldwide, thereby transforming their corporate culture. Other large corporations, such as Allianz, have now followed suit with similar announcements.
The discussion about home office is never just about working remotely. The question of how organizations will work after the pandemic has far-reaching consequences – not only for the economy as a whole, but also in terms of a new work-life reality for hundreds of thousands of employees. Read more
As we all know, normality is a question of perspective. ‘That’s not normal!’ some people might say. Others might ask ‘What is normal?’. And the next group will claim ‘Normal is boring’. And: Who wants to be boring? Don’t we all want to be a little bit different? And don’t we have to be a little different in order to be innovative? But if everyone is different, then what is normal? Does the category “normal” still work in the VUCA world, where things are changing at a rapid pace?
If you’re looking for an easy answer to the question “What is the New Normal”, you will be disappointed. Instead we need to uncover the core values of the organization that we are working for and, from there, pave new paths for collaboration together. The result? – Unknown. And that’s a good thing. Read more
Since March of this year, Digital Leadership primarily means Remote Leadership. Companies are discovering that being able to work from any location comes with many advantages, but also with new challenges. Ultimately, they all lead to one big question: How much physical proximity does leadership need?
At Tandemploy we also ask ourselves this question again and again. Our 30-person team has been working in many different locations, not just since Corona. At the same time, we have a strong home base with our Berlin office. However, this is not used by all employees to the same extent. How does that affect the team dynamics? How do team leaders manage to make all employees feel involved? And how can digital communication tools promote good leadership instead of hindering it?
Here we summarize our top 5 learnings from seven years of Tandemploy (and ten weeks of lockdown) for you. Read more
