Reflect and reset

Across, not up

I’m always working with Executive Teams who wish to deconstruct that label, so they can deliver their strategy as ‘executives’ (not managers), and as a ‘team’ (not as a committee).

Now, when one executive goes on leave, the normal practice is to get one of their managers to ‘act up’. This is done on rotation, or sometimes, on merit. I suggested to a couple of my clients that they stop doing this.?

Instead, what they should do, if they want to become true executives, and work as a team, is ‘act across’.

When the Executive Director, Corporate goes on leave, the ED Operations should take her place. Then, someone ‘acts up’ to fill the ED Ops role. This achieves two things: (i) Executives get to know each other’s roles and pain points and achieve true organisational breadth, not continued specialisation; and (ii) The ‘acting across’ ED gets to see one of their direct reports as a peer. This never happens in the ‘acting up’ model, as they’re always away when their direct reports are in their seat.?

Question: “What would you create if you ‘acted across’, not just ‘acted up’ in your organisation??

Midlife evaluation

It appears I’ve reached that time of life where people are starting to ask me about my retirement plans. Yes, seriously. I’m as shocked as you are. Perhaps it's the beard I’ve grown recently that makes me look older, but I’m astonished because my perception of my age obviously doesn’t match my actual age. I’m 58 and I no more think of retiring than when I was 48, or 38.

However, I do notice a common factor in my peers, both friends and clients, typically aged between 45 - 60.

Many are conducting a form of mid-life evaluation and either changing, or scaling back, their existing work. Senior executives are moving to consulting or board directorships; mid-level managers are changing sectors or fields of work altogether; others are simply leaving the workforce altogether to focus on family, or travel, or non-remunerative interests.

When I ask them, “What’s causing you to want to make this change?” I hear six common themes, sometimes in combination:

• a sense of remorse for goals that have not been accomplished, or a desire to right missteps they feel they’ve taken earlier in life
• ennui or boredom with repetitive work, or interacting with the same people
• a feeling of having ‘maxed out’ or hit a growth or progression ceiling sometimes coupled with being ‘overtaken’ by younger colleagues
• longing to re-capture a feeling of vitality & vigour, and inspiration and optimism
• a realisation that ‘more status’, or ‘more money’, is ultimately unsatisfying

My most common response is to ask them, “So, are you moving?away?from something you dislike, or moving?towards?something you want?” If the response is the former, I ask them, “That’s fine — and can you?simultaneously?move towards something better?” I subscribe to the view that ‘we’re here for a good time, not a long time’ therefore you should be continually ‘pulled’ towards whatever ‘good’ means to you.

Question: What, for you, would trigger a serious mid-life evaluation?

It’s in the details

I’m easily bored by (many) books and if you came to my house or office, you’d see piles of books dog-eared up to around page 50, or 100, and not beyond. I’m especially surprised, therefore, when I finish a book that covers a very narrow subject in exhaustive detail.

A famous very early example is?Izaac Walton’s “The Compleat Angler”, a 17th century dialogue between a teacher and student that celebrates the art, skill and philosophy of fly fishing. Yes, you read that correctly - fly fishing. Now, I’ve never fished, but I couldn’t put this down. In the words of novelist Richard McGuane, “It’s not about how to fish, but how to?be”.

Fast forward three hundred years to the 1970s and architect?Christopher Alexander?asks a simple but similarly deep question, “What makes cities and houses liveable?”.

In?“A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction”?he lays out no less than 253 “rules” for ‘human spaces’. He explains why curved paths are more attractive than straight ones, why ceiling heights in houses should vary, and how many people you should be able to see and hear in the optimal workspace (less than two and you’re isolated; more than eight and you’re distracted and overwhelmed). He discusses why we like to sit in circles, and why overlooking a view is so enjoyable. It’s not a book you need to read cover to cover, yet I’ve read all 1170 pages (!) at least twice.?

Question: What narrow area do you — or your organisation — know so much about that you could write a detailed guide to inspire future humanity?

I always like to know you’ve enjoyed reading, so please click the ‘Like’ to let me know you’re out there as a real-life person, not a bot or part of the algorithms that increasingly run more and more aspects of our lives.

Until we meet again next week, do find something detailed in which you can immerse yourself, and consider when — and what — your next stage of self-evaluation should be.

See you next Friday,

Andrew