Let’s redefine the standard

This Two-Minute Tip stems from something I have really struggled with for years, so today's message has extra personal meaning for me.

I would absolutely love to see us reimagine the status quo in our workplaces around this challenge.

Please watch and, if you're a people leader, TAKE ACTION to challenge convention in your organization. When you do, would you please let me know?

• Read the video transcript

  Today's message is brought to you by a working parent with school-aged children on the very last day of school.

  That is today! It is the day that my girls have been counting down toward and there there's so much excitement around the last day of school as we step into summer.

  And yet, for working parents this day often brings mixed emotions. Yes, you're excited with your children, but then on the other hand there's some sadness because it's likely that you can't give them the type of summer that you would really love to give them. The kind where they can sleep in in the morning and have no agenda for the day, and you can spend time with them doing whatever it is you want to do with them that day. It can be really challenging.

  And so I have a couple thoughts to share.

  The first is for managers. If you are a people manager, you have an opportunity to maybe explore some extra creative flexibility in schedules over the summer. And certainly this needs to apply to all team members, not just working parents, but maybe you have a conversation with your team and, and explore what it could look like to offer some more flexibility.

  For working parents, maybe it would be helpful to come in extra early, but leave early and have extra hours in the late afternoon and evening with their kids every day. Or maybe that doesn't work. Maybe instead they want to jump on early from home, take care of some emails, then hit pause and enjoy breakfast with their kids before coming into the office. So maybe they actually show up to the office a little bit later. Or, gosh, what if they could take every Friday off and have a three day weekend with their kids during the summer?

  These are just some options. I don't know what's best for you or for your team, but the point is if you can explore some creative flexibility here, facilitate a conversation with your team and think through what these options could look like.

  And then for working parents, you may not be able to control how many hours you get with your kids this summer, but you can absolutely control how you show up with them during those hours. Turn off your phone, shut down the inbox. Be fully present with them when you are with them. So take full advantage of the actual time that you have with them and I promise that will pay off.

  So I hope that you can find some extra flexibility this summer. I hope you can take advantage of the time that you do get with your children if you're working parents. And I hope that we can just explore some new ways of working here, ways that value the whole person and understand that there is more to to our lives than just work. And yet we also want to be able to show fully in our work and do a good job.

  So join me in exploring some new approaches here and seeing what might be possible.