This year we’ve been looking at “courageous conversations”
All year long our Thursdays with ThirdPath webinars have been exploring the “courageous conversations” we need to have – at work and home – to follow an integrated approach to work and life.
Below are some “lessons learned” from our November webinar where we looked at the courageous conversations that help create more flexibility at work.
Michelle Hickox, the CFO of Independent Bank joined our call along with two of her team members. Below are some of the highlights from our conversation with Michelle, Amy and Leslie – on the right we’ve also included some of the slides from the call.
Michelle started by talking about the flexible schedule she used when her children were young. She described the challenges she had to overcome, but also how she was able to continue with her flexible schedule even as she became a partner at her accounting firm.
Now – as the CFO of Independent Bank – Michelle is making flexibility available for her team.
Amy, one of Michelle’s team members, talked about the positive influence Michelle has had at her workplace.
For example, Amy remembers Michelle saying, “It’s ok to turn your blackberry off over the weekend.” This is something Michelle modeled herself. It also hadn’t been part of Amy’s work culture prior to this point.
Amy also explains how watching Michelle manage her team more flexibly empowered Amy to follow the same approach with the team she is now managing.
Amy and Michelle’s stories illustrate how much “integrated leaders” – professionals who have modeled an integrated approach their entire careers – are making a difference in our workplaces.
It also helps illustrate something ThirdPath learned a long time ago – in order to make change within organizations, you need to follow a 3 pronged approach:
(1) Individuals need to develop good skills.
(2) Teams need to develop solutions that work for everyone.
(3) Leaders need to be advocates for change, and some of the leaders also need to be role models.
Want to learn more?
Listen to the webinar by clicking the YouTube video on the right.
Here’s the PDF of the “courageous conversations at work” summary we created from the webinar.
Or join us next month when we take another look at the courageous conversations we are having to create more satisfying lives.
