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I've been trying to teach my kids a few life lessons recently. Hard work, clean teeth, the importance of "please" and "thank you" - pretty standard and boring stuff. The value of money is a bit more interesting.
Negotiations with a 7 year old
I knew I was making progress when my daughter told me she had a secret to share. Here's the deal, she explained:
If she shared her secret there could be no consequences.
The secret was that she had been topping up her money box from my money drawer - clearly I'm making some progress on the financial education. Her overly commercial grandfather being annoyingly proud of her business acumen didn't help.
Keeping my word
No consequences means no consequences - right? And to be fair she's 7 rather than 17.
So I swallowed hard; offered a bit of meagre praise for coming clean; and gave her a suspended sentence based on the proviso that it doesn't happen again.
If I'm honest, it wasn't too difficult to accept. We have a great relationship. She's spent her entire life building up a generous reservoir of trust. If I had any doubts about her putting her thieving hands in my money drawer again it'd be a different story.
Trust is the key ingredient
That's easy for a parent. It can though be very difficult for a business. But it's also the absolute key to flexible working.
If you manage someone, allowing them to work flexibly is the most natural thing in the world providing you trust them. If you don't - well it's doomed to failure. But here's the point. Trust needs to be built up on both sides. It's not a given and employees who believe it should be don't help the cause.
Many managers - and yes, often it's those white, middle-aged, antediluvian ones we read about - suffer from a trust deficit. They often need a gentle push towards the promised-land from employees working flexibly - and yes, here I'm talking here about those talented working mothers.
If you're not in the office then why not work a little harder at communication. It might seem pointless but a few extra phone calls and the odd email at strange hours really might help. Trust - it's an amazing asset until you get caught in the money drawer again...
Ben Black
