Combining work and life goals improves how we work
Yes, it’s true. When you encourage people to think about both their work and life needs at the same time, often they will find more efficient ways to approach their work.This is something Lotte Bailyn taught us even before we launched ThirdPath Institute 15 years ago. And it creates the foundation for all of the work we do.
Later, Leslie Perlow – a mentee of Lotte Bailyn – was able to build on Lotte’s work when she did her innovative research in a highly competitive consulting organization.
Leslie’s sensational book – Sleeping with Your Smart Phone – described what happened when team members were required to take predictable time off (PTO) while working to meet client needs.
Below are some of the amazing findings from Leslie’s research.
You can also listen to our exciting Thursday with ThirdPath webinar with her by clicking the soundcloud icon below.
Here’s a list of the many benefits the teams gained from participating in the PTO process …
They addressed problems sooner
It helped teams better prioritize their work
– Maybe only 3 answers were necessary not 5
– Maybe they needed to reallocate resources
– Maybe a conversation with the client was required
They reduced travel
It reduced evening and weekend email
They made meetings more effective
– As one participant said: “I now structure case team meetings around core client
issues and can leverage the collective intelligence of the team”
It improved how they scheduled meetings
They invented new ways to share daily progress on projects
It increased flexibility around where work was done
They addressed performance problems early on
The general take away: setting limits on work time increased everyone’s creativity!
Or as Leslie explains it, they addressed the “knowing-doing gap.” People knew there was a problem, and could also come up with ways to address the problem.
It also encouraged “collective experimentation.” Multiple people experimented together, and by doing so they were able to challenge the status quo. They also learned each “micro change” built on the ones before them, unleashing the ability to make changes within the team and ultimately in the organization’s culture.
Want to learn more about how Lotte’s amazing work reshaped the work-family landscape, read an excerpt from a recent article, Lotte Bailyn – Thought Leader, celebrating her important contributions.