Page 193 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

WHAT CHALLENGES INTEREST ME? (PERSONALIZED CONTRIBUTIONS)

George’s car was still in the parking lot, which reinforced
his hard-worker image. George told Jerry (his friend), “I
don’t even need to go to work! Everyone thinks I’m there
because my car is!” Clearly there are more ways to be “at
work” than to be parked in the employee lot. We suggest
three sets of options that may (or for some employees may
not) affect feelings of abundance at work: remote location
versus office, inside versus outside, and domestic versus
international.

Remote Location Versus Office. Some people like the formal
transition from and to work, and going to an office or job site
helps create boundaries between work and personal lives.
But with technology, many tasks can now be done in remote
locations. The boundaries of work are less about physically
showing up at the office and more about delivering the
desired outcomes.
A senior IBM official shared with us that at any point in
time, 40 percent of IBM employees are working at customer
sites, in hotels, at home, or at conferences, rather than in
an IBM office. JetBlue reservationists generally work from
home, where they don’t have to commute or dress up to
handle customer calls. Best Buy gets increased productivity
and engagement when employees are free to focus on sales
results, not hours in the store. These strategies work well if
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leaders rigorously hold employees accountable for outcomes,
quality, and timeliness. George cannot leave his car in the
parking lot as a surrogate for commitment if the focus is on
work outcomes, not hours worked. Leaders also need to con-
sider the social elements of work, which may be neglected
without face time on the job. Independent employees may

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