It’s National Poetry Day today but don’t worry, I’ll spare you the cringe of reading one of my fabulous rhyming HR poems. Instead I thought I’d touch on a topic that affects both poetry and management in the workplace…the subtle art of balancing freedom and structure.
O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou employment contract?
There’s a myth that great poets sit at their desks, quill in hand, pouring mystical inspiration out onto the page by candlelight. But the truth is probably closer to a very boring but necessary routine, where they structure their work according to beginning, middle and end, with various set turning points in the narrative.
Think of all the famous poems across time that have very set structures: Sonnets (three quatrains and a couplet), Haikus (5-7-5 syllables), Villanelles (19 line poems), Sestinas (39 line poems), Limericks (AABBA rhyming schemes). In other words – the structure creates limitations, and it’s in the limitations that creativity can roam wild.
The same could be said about good leadership in the workplace. Too much structure and you become that loathed micromanager, checking and double checking that things are done, on the hour every hour. Too little structure and you’re the manager everyone knows they can get away with doing their own thing and missing deadlines due to a lack of negative consequence.
Structure provides clarity, direction and a sense of security for team members. It establishes clear expectations, roles and responsibilities, which helps reduce uncertainty and allows people to focus on their work. As HR Goldilocks once famously said, “not too strict, not too loose, but just right.” (Yes…that’s as close as you’re coming to getting an HR poem out of me!)
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
The key of course is finding the right balance between these two elements. That will depend on your leadership style, your company’s culture and your goals. Some teams may require more structure, while others thrive with greater freedom. And even within teams, you’ll find that different personality types require different levels of hand-holding.
To achieve this balance, I recommend creating a framework that provides clear direction while allowing for flexibility. What are the non-negotiable deadlines and tasks you’d like your team to achieve? Set clear goals / objectives / OKRS, and milestones for reviewing and rewarding said performance.
Exactly what you decide to include at each stage will depend on the nature of your business…although (hint!) for most people, annual objectives are a tad too long to be relevant. With this guidance in place, employees can start making autonomous decisions that align with the company’s best interests.
Some people think that goal setting simply involves the member of staff being ‘talked at’, for half an hour. This should never be the case. Always ask individuals to share their thoughts on what they’d like to achieve over the next quarter, and what they think they need to focus on for the year on a personal level. You might unearth important information that you hadn’t previously thought about.
This above all: to thine own self be true
The key takeaway here is that, in the same way different poems need different types of structure to work, different people function differently…so work out where on the spectrum of independence vs management your key talent lies and let them flourish.
Be sure that your line managers are having open and honest conversations with their direct reports, and that information is taken seriously and considered when it comes to adopting the right style of leadership for each individual.
Need help creating leadership processes for your company? Drop us a line via hello@thehrhub.co.uk or give us a call on 0203 951 1208.
If you don’t want to speak to anyone but would like to learn more, read my book The MAGIC of HR.
