Work restructuring to incorporate quality of life needs

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Lena L. West/CEO Rising®

This post is part of my subseries on how organizations can transform leadership development for womenas described through the eyes of the experiences lived by women and where gaps remain.

In this post, I explore the intersectionality of genderage and quality of life factors of women in leadershipThrough the eyes of Lena West, writer, speaker, inclusive business growth strategist, and founding director of CEO Rising, a virtual business accelerator.

Lena West has had her share of challenges in her career journey. One significant experience was ageism, but not in the way most people would expect. Lena shares, “I was penalized for being too young. I was doing technical work in the IT field for large corporations as a junior consultant under a more senior leader, who I think was a bit threatened by my abilities. He literally told me, ‘You’re not only as good as you think you are. All of you young people think you’re better than you really are.'”

As a young professional just starting her career, Lena was hurt and offended by this comment. She made intentional choices about how she presented herself at meetings and focused on talking about her accomplishments rather than her age.

“I knew that I had talent. I knew that what I was experiencing with this top leader was that he was trying to suppress me and keep me stuck. I didn’t have the words at the time to verbalize how I felt. I just knew that he was offended. I was hurt. And I also knew that he was wrong. I didn’t know what to say. I just knew that I had to take action. Otherwise, that would be my story in that environment. defender.”

Through her experiences, Lena has learned the importance of being an advocate for herself and others.

“It wasn’t until I started being my own advocate at meetings and asking for [larger] network implementation projects that I actually started getting assigned to those types of projects.”

She took this lesson and applied it to her own business, CEO Rising, which is 100% remote. Lena shares: “We’ve been remote before it was cool – we were 100% virtual since we started. But about three years ago, I really took a hard look at my business model. That was around the time when predatory business practices were really starting to rise. online training and consulting space – they were using false urgency and stirring up pain to win business.”

It was then that she realized that she could create a business that aligned with her values ​​and could help her and her employees feel supported.

She instituted mandatory unlimited paid time off and mental health lunch-and-learn sessions, which she calls “focusing quality of life.”

Time off policies are managed in several ways. For example, the team has Fridays off, and instead of trying to squeeze five work days into four, they learn to work more effectively and efficiently by prioritizing their work and “focusing on what absolutely needs to be done within four.” days”.

It is an intentional investment. Lena says:

“I don’t think there are people problems, I think there are process problems. Once you start changing the structure and process of how you do business, you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve.”

Lena believes that changing the structure and process of how you do business can create a positive work environment that centers on inclusion, intersectionality, and mental health.

In fact, Lena is leading the way into a new era of how we work and how women, in particular, need support in the face of important recidivism on women’s mental health and economic outcomes. The World Economic Forum assessment of January 2023 indicates that “an estimated investment of $300 million in research focused on women could generate a $13 billion economic return… and years of productivity returned to the global workforce” and that “societies that prioritize women’s health show increased productivity through generations.”

And the Center for Creative Leadership investigation on women in the workplace indicates that, in general, having more women in the workplace translates into fewer exhaustion and improved employee engagement and retention for all employees, not just women. Imagine the impact when those women feel supported too.

What are some things that organizations can do to create an inclusive work culture where women and all people thrive and want to stay?

Drawing on her experiences, Lena shares five recommendations:

1. Create a culture of open communication: Organizations must be willing to have difficult conversations with their teams about their experiences, and must actively seek feedback without fear of grief Creating a culture where employees feel comfortable raising concerns and providing feedback can help identify and address issues that may be hindering women’s success at work. Lena adds: “Don’t assume you already know. Go up to them and ask questions and be willing to listen to harsh comments; it will only make your organization better.”
2. Commit to long-term change: Achieving gender equality in the workplace requires a long-term vision and commitment. Organizations must be willing to invest in structural changes that promote a caring and inclusive work culture, such as revising policies and procedures, addressing unconscious biases and promote diversity and inclusion at all levels of the organization. Lena recalls: “It took me two years to implement our changes structurally. It is a long-term vision. The results will be an outstanding organization and a place where people really enjoy working. You’ll be able to attract the kinds of talent that make a difference, talent that can grow your business.”
3. Make asking for feedback a habit at the team and organizational level. At the organizational level, this includes regularly evaluating and improving policies and benefits, such as maternity leave, to ensure they are truly supportive and not a burden in terms of paperwork or processes. Lena explains: “If someone has to fill out 10 forms and get five signatures to access maternity leave, it might be time to look at that process and whether your organization is truly committed to providing maternity leave or just committed to doing Get people to fill out paperwork and get signatures.
4. Take a stand against micro and macro aggressions: This includes providing education and train employees on what they look like and how to prevent them, as well as taking a hard line against such behaviors. Lena offers the following practical suggestion: “Have built-in engagement rules that are enforced at the leadership level, such as ‘Allow everyone to finish their thoughts before someone else starts speaking.’ In fact, in my experience, many women have resorted to using misogynistically reviled filler words such as “umm,” “uhh,” and “like” as a method of audibly indicating that they haven’t finished expressing their thoughts and no I don’t want to be interrupted. If, within your company, everyone is allowed to finish their thoughts before someone else starts speaking, the people who are least likely to be heard will be more likely to be fully heard, feel respected, and included. Also, when having difficult conversations about micro and macro bullying, focus on the needs of the people who are most likely to be bullied and ask them about their experiences with explanations, thought interruption, taking credit for ideas, stealing credit for ideas. , being excluded from opportunities, not having internal champions, etc. Really consider how you can identify, challenge, and structurally change these processes and experiences for employees.”
5. Quality of life center for employees. Simply put, when you focus on helping employees feel safe and supported at work through the above structural changes, and demonstrate through words and actions that their quality of life matters, you’ll have more productive employees who stay. This is especially true for women who now search companies that offer more flexibility and focus on wellness versus being overworked and undervalued for that job.