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Executive Briefing: Fully Engaging
Leadership
Enlisting the Culture Leaders Much lip service is paid to “senior management support” of workplace flexibility. It is less often said whether that support is informed and deep or marginal and vague. A flexible workplace requires, and often spearheads a marked culture change. Without serious, informed and committed senior leadership, sustained change is unlikely. In our experience, there can be reluctance to engage senior leadership who may be perceived as skeptical or uninterested. |
We believe -- and find -- that they can be enlisted in a well-framed, business-oriented initiative. As executives regularly tell us, they know flexibility is an issue. They did, and still do, confront it as managers themselves. Whatever view leaders may have had of flexibility prior to a briefing, they invariably prove comfortable with the FlexWise™ business-beneficial approach. In the course of a solid presentation and a thorough discussion, the central questions are usually raised and put to rest. This process reduces perceptions that flexibility is a costly entitlement and a reduction in accountability and sharpens the view that it can add great value to the business.
Who to Brief Every organization is configured differently, so which leaders should be briefed and in what combination is a matter best resolved with the client. Our recommended criteria for inclusion are simple: those who are well-positioned to disproportionately challenge or advance the acceptance of workplace flexibility. Among those to consider are: |
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Executive Committee Minimally this group should include the CEO, COO, CFO,
SVP-HR and other members. This is the essential group to be briefed since they can and should champion the culture change. But engaging business leaders below them can contribute greatly to success. |
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Divisional Leaders Employees and managers take their cues as much from their business leaders as from the C-suite – and perhaps more. And these leaders are often much closer to the promise and peril of flexibility in operations. There can be great ROI from sessions with this group. |
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HR Leaders HR plays a crucial role in enabling culture change and retooling assumptions and habits. Briefing the HR strategy group is essential. |
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How to Brief Of course we always brief executives in collaboration with client colleagues. In addition to substantial content knowledge and credibility, we add to their organizational and strategic knowledge our “walking benchmark” role and the ability as outsiders to take some of the “heat” in such presentations. While briefings are highly customized for each company and each group, key goals will usually include: |
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Shifting the understanding of flexibility from an accommodation to a business-beneficial perspective |
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Reviewing the elements of the FlexWise™ approach, including the website |
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Stimulating thinking about the long-term power of flex as a business problem-solver |
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Identifying and address the key concerns leaders may have about the approach and implementation plan |
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Securing appropriate commitments for going forward |
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