5 best team tips to boost productivity 💥

The LinkedIn Forward conference that I MCed last week was about putting people at the centre of business growth—deep diving into productivity in the new world of work.

The five best productivity takeaways:

0️⃣ When it comes to setting boundaries—e.g. on email timings, pausing notifications, taking regular breaks, meeting etiquette, etc.—there is zero point if you set them, but don’t adhere to them yourself.

Annnnnnnd let’s all read that again so we remember it.

🦉 Personalisation is essential. Letting a night owl work late and start late will improve their contribution, not diminish it.

⚡️ Manage the energy of your team: through job design, work/life balance, and boundaries. Not through getting everyone the Mindspace app or office yoga on ‘Tune In Tuesday’.

💪🏻 Match skills to roles rather than just education and what people have done before. People thrive at things that come naturally to them. #skillsfirst

⁉️ Reduce the decisions your team has to make. Don’t waste limited capacity competing over seating, gaming what day to come in or fighting over phone booths.

I also really enjoyed a presentation from Dr Eliza Filby on generational change which put into context last week’s decision to offer government-funded childcare from 9 months.

The baby boomers were the last generation where the breadwinner model was common. My lot, Generation X, was the first to push mass female employment at more senior levels and dual-income households in the middle classes. The Millennials have grown that trend. Meaning that demand for early years childcare has exploded while affordable provision has collapsed.

It is good news that the government has moved on this—it will be significantly better news when it’s properly planned and funded. The main thing here is the massive hats off, hugs and hurrahs for the incredible Joeli Brearley and the team at Pregnant Then Screwed who have delivered so much in such a short amount of time.

Next week

What fear does to our emotional regulation at work, inspired by Becky Hewitt OBE.

Christine