Welcome to your journey into the future of work. You have an exciting time ahead of you, and you will be playing a very special role in the migration of your team. You will be looked to as a mentor, a guide, a coach, and your leadership will be invaluable.
This will be a time to put your faith in us to guide you through the process, as well as put your faith in your team to deliver on what they are paid to do. This is a very scary concept for many people, so know that if you are getting uncomfortable right now, wondering what’s to come, know that you’re in good company. It can be hard to let go of old styles and habits, but we encourage you to go through this process with an open mind and think in terms of possibility. A more relaxed, productive and loyal workforce will be your reward.
You will be going through an adaptive change, where you must build, as a team, the new work environment that you will have. It is a very exciting time that is full of possibilities, but won’t always be challenge-free. People will go through this change at different paces and in different ways, but with perseverance you will come out on the other side.
Some words of advice: be patient and be gentle with yourself. Allow yourself to make mis-steps along the way, but support one another and celebrate the wins.
Migrating to a Results‐Only Work Environment works best using a “pull” rather than “push” philosophy. Management doesn’t “push” the change from above; rather, the people at the grassroots level “pull” the change through the organization. This can create a challenge for leadership and management, who must ride this change rather than drive it. Leaders and managers need to resist a “checklist” approach to gauging whether the migration is taking hold, and instead embrace something a little more fluid. It's also important to note that people might be making noise as well. They may be saying that direction is unclear. They are used to being told exactly what to do. This makes it that much more irresistible for managers to intervene. And to ensure the change takes root and continues to evolve, they must not.
Like any kind of migration—whether it’s birds or people—not everyone arrives all at once. This module is an effort to give the migration process some shape, while also giving your team, department or organization enough breathing room to make this change at their own pace. With time, effort, and trust, everyone can come along on this wonderful journey.
Now we’ll provide you an overview of what to expect during the sessions that you and your team will be participating in as you migrate into a Results Only Work Environment.
The goals of your Part One - Kickoff Module are: 1. Team(s) understand the ROWE philosophy and leadership’s commitment to creating a ROWE. 2. Team(s) understand that ROWE is an adaptive, cultural change, NOT a flexible work arrangement program. 3. Team(s) will be “buzzing” about ROWE (i.e. openly talking about the change, wondering about how it will work, discussing the implications, etc.) Things to watch for: • Are people talking about ROWE as another flavor‐of‐the‐month quick fix? Or are they vocally expressing that leadership has embraced this change? • Are people talking about ROWE in terms of how the entire team, department or organization’s culture will change? Or do they think this is just an HR program? • Are people talking about ROWE? Or are they keeping silent about the Kickoff? Here are some action items for Kickoff: • If people think this is another flavor‐of‐the‐month quick fix, then check in with leadership to make sure they aren’t undermining the process. • If people are excited about ROWE, but think it’s just an HR program, try recruiting people in the team, department or organization who seem to understand it on a deeper level. Leverage these individuals’ social capital to motivate and encourage those who are unclear. • If people aren’t talking about ROWE, then it’s likely that they don’t believe that leadership actually supports this change. Make sure that leaders are being openly supportive of the migration. If people feel they will be punished for being excited about this
Here are the goals for Sludge session: 1. Team understands the power of language in the ROWE transformation. 2. Team understands Sludge Eradication is the main tool for removing workplace impediments. 3. Team members practice Sludge Eradication. Things to look for during Sludge: • Are people dismissing Sludge as fluff? Or do they see the importance of language and how it creates culture? (Even if they dismiss it as fluff at first, the point is to get them talking about it. As long as they are talking about it, even if they are poking fun at it, they will realize that it exists.) • Are people able to identify Sludge? • Are people practicing Sludge Eradication? Or are they too timid to speak their minds? Here are some action items for the Sludge module: • If people are dismissing Sludge as fluff, then you may want to try running the Sludge game again in small groups. • If people are having trouble identifying Sludge, show people the Sludge role plays again to refresh their memories. • If people aren’t practicing Sludge Eradication, try checking in with leadership and management to see if they are modeling the behavior. If the people with power aren’t openly working on eradicating Sludge, then the people might not feel they have permission to speak up.
Here are your goals for the Culture Clinic One: 1. Team members learn to solve problems effectively using a ROWE mindset. 2. Team resists implementing traditional guidelines that will stifle ROWE. 3. Team members feel like they have created a new community. This is what you should be looking for during the Culture Clinic One: • Are people using the ROWE definition to solve issues? Or are they reverting back to old beliefs about how work should happen? • Are people supporting each other by focusing on work happening, not where or when it's happening? Or is Sludge creeping back in? • Are people talking about measurable goals? Or are they still talking or bragging about long hours? Things you should do to ensure Culture Clinic is successful include: • If people are reverting back to old beliefs, then you may want to try coaching in small groups using the definition and guideposts as your guide. • If people are focused on time and place instead of focusing on the work, make sure people are comfortable with how they're using technology to communicate. • If people are still unclear about how to make goals measurable, suggest a refresher from your Human Resources team on company performance management systems. Encourage people to question goals that cannot be measured. Find ways to measure it them.
During Culture Clinic Two, these are your goals: 1. The team becomes crystal clear on what their unified team outcome is and can paint themselves into that picture. 2. Team members identify the activities they are doing that are and aren’t enabling the team’s outcome. 3. The team determines exactly how they will measure success. This is what you should be looking for during the Culture Clinic Two: • Are people thinking at a high-enough level of outcome? Or are they thinking reverting back to believing the activities they do are actually their outcome? • Are the team members being honest about which activities do and do not actually get them closer to their goal? • Are people talking about measurable goals? Or are they deciding on measures that will not actually help them know whether or not they are successful? Things you should do to ensure Culture Clinic Two is successful include: • Push your team members to agree on a high level outcome that they can ALL agree to. • If people are not coming up with activities that are not enabling the outcome, remind them that it is okay to be honest about current work that needs to change. • If people are still unclear about how to make goals measurable, help them by reminding them that everything can be measured, either with numbers or anecdotal information.
The Manager-Only session goal is that managers will demonstrate the ability to respond appropriately to common ROWE scenarios. To ensure the managers are on-track during this session, ask yourselves the following questions: • Are managers focused on making sure goals are clear and measurable? Or are they working hard to implement guidelines like core hours? • Are managers advocating the use of technology and noticing work getting done? Or are they joking ‐ using management Sludge like “I used to be able to find people, but now it's just a ghost town around here!” • Are mangers reinforcing and rewarding the accomplishment of reaching goals and meeting deadlines? Or are they still rewarding long hours? Here are some action items to ensure successful manager learning: • If managers are trying to implement core hours or other traditional guidelines, have a coaching session to help them turn their focus back to the work. • If managers are using Sludge, encourage the team to call out management Sludge. You can also meet with managers and come up with management Sludge phrases and discuss how they're undermining the change. • If managers are still rewarding long hours or time, encourage them to incorporate reward practices that focus solely on the work that's getting done, and remove all language that rewards long hours.
Here are some things you should see as employees begin to live their lives in a ROWE: 1. Team members and managers will talk about where they are in the ROWE journey. 2. Team will repeatedly review the vision of ROWE to ensure consistency of outcome. Ask yourselves this: • Are people able to connect their behaviors to the Guideposts? Or are they reverting back to old work patterns? • Are people having performance discussions that include getting clear on measurable goals? Or is time still the most prevalent measure of work getting done? • Are people removing low‐value work and activities, including non‐essential meetings from their calendars? Or are they still filling time with non‐essential tasks? Keep your forward momentum by doing these things: • If people are reverting back to old work patterns, continue meeting in small groups using the Guideposts as a point of discussion. Pick one person for each Guidepost to act as the “Keeper of the Guidepost” to push other people’s thinking around that Guidepost. • If people are still unclear about how to make goals measurable, suggest a refresher from your Human Resources team on company performance management systems. Encourage people to question goals that cannot be measured. Find ways to measure them. • If people are still filling time with low‐value tasks and unproductive meetings, encourage people to ask themselves questions like “ If this meeting or task didn’t happen, would it affect the outcome of the work?”
There you go! You have the knowledge you need to understand your ROWE journey and make it successful. You are now prepared to go through the ROWE modules with your team. Be sure to utilize the online resources we have provided for you to make the most of this process. We know you can do it! Congratulations on becoming a Results Only Work Environment!
Welcome to your journey into the future of work. You have an exciting time ahead of you, and you will be playing a very special role in the migration of your team. You will be looked to as a mentor, a guide, a coach, and your leadership will be invaluable.
