‘In order to support another, we need to feel supported.’
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The Village is deflating
We have probably all heard the phrase “it takes a village to raise a child”. It originates from an African proverb and conveys the message that it takes many people (“the village”) to provide a safe, healthy environment for children, where children are given the essential security, they need to develop and flourish, and to be able to realize their hopes and dreams.
This requires an environment where children’s voices are taken seriously and where multiple people (the “villagers”) including parents, siblings, extended family, neighbours, teachers, professionals, policy makers, and organisations care for a child. Whether directly or indirectly. By indirectly we of course mean the support our workplaces offer the parent in looking after their children.
In our 2023 annual trends work – we have highlighted a worrying systemic trend for working families – that ‘The village is deflating, running out of puff and needs some new vitality’.
In the ‘Seeing’ section of our June newsletter, we featured an article from Roffey Park Institute where you can read more about how line managers – a critical part of the Village – are impacted.
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The 21st Century Village
The village, for many working parents, is dissipated and fragmented and as mums and dads we are increasingly isolated in the 21st century. Family breakdown, economic pressures, long working hours and increased mobility have all contributed to families feeling less connected to extended family members and this has an impact.
Take a working parent, with perhaps less extended family support than previous generations, and place them in the here and now; in a world that is transforming at a pace that is hard to navigate, into the ‘Age of Worry & Uncertainty” (another trend). The village has to adapt and within that the role of the organisation becomes more and more important.
One of the key components of the village that surrounds a working parent is his or her line manager. We know that the line manager relationship is the number one enabler or disabler for a working parents experience at work.
The impact on managers and leaders
And our line managers and leaders have experienced unprecedented change in recent years, and many feel unsupported themselves.
‘In order to support another, we need to feel supported.’
Unsurprisingly leadership has become more challenging during the Hybrid era. We have the highest proportion of home working ever in 2023.
Home working is at its highest ever level, but the shift to hybrid working is causing headaches for one in three managers who say it has changed leadership for the worse. [1]
Managers are feeling unsupported in how to manage and lead hybrid teams. And new types of leadership are now prized.
In times of compounded crises leaders who prioritise empathy, compassion, and patience, are visible and open, and are masters of change management, are preferred. The once called ‘soft skills’, the same skills required for good enough parenting btw.
How is this achieved?
For every coaching client that we work with, we also engage with their line manager. In these conversations we have noticed a few shifts that create the most ‘supportive Village environment’:
1. Managing performance through outcomes, impact, and ownership.
In successful hybrid environments, managers who move to a stronger outcome and impact orientation, whilst empowering employees to determine how they work and take full ownership of outcomes.
2. Doing more to build trust and togetherness.
When traditional methods like walking the company floor, chatting at the coffee machine, or taking employees to lunch are less available, leading with empathy and authenticity becomes critical. Those managers who proactively establish and prioritise trust by role modelling are contributing to the healthy village. Modelling things such as reliability, acceptance, listening, openness, belonging and authenticity really matters in this day and age.
3. Support Social Flexibility.
The ways that an organization supports and empowers individual and team well-being must adapt to the hybrid world. During the pandemic we saw the focus on health and well-being of the workforce become business critical. DE&I budgets grew, and policies evolved to allow for flexible work schedules built around our lives, so caregiving, school schedules, mental health needs, exercise etc were permissible. Now, as we embrace a more permanent hybrid work ecosystem, organizations must ditch the “work/life balance” mindset. The pandemic has shown that well-being is not about “balancing” work with life, but more finding sustainable ways to integrate the two in a way that provides flexibility and choice.
4. Facilitating and proactively engaging with teams.
Simply put, I think we all now know that online engagement has its losses. These are multiplied with behaviours such as ‘cameras off’, ‘obvious distraction such as checking emails and not being present’. By employing more engaging facilitation methods successful managers are avoiding these pitfalls.
Stabilising The Village
These are some of the ways that the line managers can navigate hybrid working. And in turn feel supported themselves as they support those around them. There is no one “right” way to prepare managers for the hybrid workplace, as there is no one right way to implement the hybrid workplace with an organization. The strategic path forward depends on so many organizational factors. Yet, hybrid work is here to stay. And managers must be intentional and focused on cultivating new ways of working, to be able to lead and support both remote and in-person workers over the long term.
The needs of future generations are also here to stay, and for the parents who care for them.
Organisations who deem themselves part of the Village are going to be the ones that working parents choose to work for and gain competitive advantage.
If you’d like to cultivate “the village” environment and provide support for the working parents within your organisation, please get in touch.
[1] Research by Coursera as referenced on HR Grapevine: 1 in 3 managers find leadership more challenging in the hybrid era
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