Looking back on 2021 in business, leadership and change

Transcript

Karen K  

Both okay, you Okay? Yep. Good. All right, three, two. Looking back on this See, I felt that it has gone really fast and maybe that's just because of some long walk downs that some of us have experienced. But also when I looked at the topics that we've covered so far Locky in this series around mental health and leadership, having tough conversations, the explosion of the gig economy, they're all really big issues. In business. And for business owners focusing really just on staying relevant and solvent during this period. Adding in these broader societal and workplace trends is quite an ask. So it did get me to think you know, how would you sum up your year Lachy what's 2021 been to you?

Lachy Gray  

What a question. Yeah, what a year. I, I think leaning has been a kind of a motto for me. This year. Really continuing on from last year. someone that likes certainty. hasn't made much of that in the last almost two years now. And initially that was very challenging. Thinking about what's the best way to navigate through all this change? Because no one knew, and I guess we still don't know what's going to happen and what that means for for our businesses. But then, sort of once I moved past that, and it kind of accepted that that change was inevitable, and to really focus on what I can control and try worried less about what I can't control. It was actually quite liberating. So now I've had a chance to practice that over and over especially in the middle of this year, getting into the most recent round of lockdowns. And I would actually say that, that is probably a net benefit for me, in terms of how I think about things how I process information. So whilst it's been very challenging, I think the silver lining has been for me is personal learning opportunity. I've been forced to really grow and put some tools together that I think I'll have for life now. So if I turn that question back on you, Carrie, how would you sum up your year?

Karen K  

It's been tiring. I think I think your answer is much more positive. And yeah, like I absolutely think you know, I've learned a lot I've definitely grown. Yeah, I've changed a lot of things personally and professionally, but all of that is tiring. So I've got to be honest and say that. Yeah, it's been a very it's been a really good year. I feel like I've accomplished a lot. And it's been a lot of really exciting things. But it still comes as a cost, doesn't it? Yeah, I think it's been a wonderful year of experimentation for many people. I think most of us have had those reflection times of what's really important, and especially this last big walk down, really just being grateful for the time that we had with the family but also for the position that we're in as a country as well. Like I was, as much as you had those moments of winning, it was still I still always reflected on you know, we're really so lucky in Australia to be in a position that we've been in and have so much government support. And yeah, I think it's all about the last episode with just you know, business owners just being more vulnerable and open with each other and sharing it and I think that's been fantastic. So I've loved being part of that huge shift in the workplace.

Lachy Gray  

Yeah, absolutely. And there are a lot that you call out on the gratitude that certainly a practice that that I've implemented now, because yeah, I do think I've got so much to be grateful for. And it's those types of practice. I think that yeah, they're they are in my control. Even though so many things out there that are impacting me in the business ad. helps a lot. So I was thinking about what would what are some of the main top kind of pros from from 2021 I think rethinking how we work we've been forced to guess, and where we work from, has been massive, like, just the question, what's the purpose of an office? Why do we go to an office? You know, for me, it was always just a default that the business would get to a certain size and we would need an office. I didn't even think twice, really. And then COVID came along, and we gave up the office and I was forced to think about, well, what were we doing in there? And what does that look like in the future? I think COVID was a was a really strong catalyst to do that. Sure. We were forced to do it. But even still, we've, we've stayed remote because we think that it best fits our business for where we are right now and we might change our mind in the future. But I just don't know if we would be in the same place. Without that really strong catalyst. Yeah. And I think more broadly as well. Asking the question, does it make sense for people to be commuting in the same direction at the same time, Monday to Friday? Like, I think we know that no, it does not make sense. However, that's what we all did. And for a time it stopped. So to have that opportunity to do so. What does that mean? How can we continue to do this into the future whether we whether we continue to commute by perhaps less days or different times, to really be encouraged to rethink what work looks like. And then I think, to just introducing some humanity into proceedings Yeah, well, the video calls and there's kids in the background dogs, cats and just general shenanigans. I love that because that's humanity. I think this can be so much emphasis on showing our best self all the time. And that's not reality. Is it? Like it's just it's just not so I really enjoy that side of it, as well.

Karen K  

Yeah, no, that's such a good point. I think we were much more forgiving. And we're seeking that realness out way like it's it's kind of the opposite. Of the Instagram culture. And it is looking Yeah, for, for that just realness, saying, yeah, yes, I'm working for you. I'm working with you. But I'm still a human being with a family or flatmates or pets or whatever it might be.

Lachy Gray  

Yeah, absolutely. I think it's been, perhaps a positive, sharing vulnerability, perhaps with ourselves without our family and also if we're comfortable with our colleagues, because we was a shared experience. I guess it still is. Which is quite unique. We might have a shared experience within our business. But to have all this was going through a similar thing from an external factor, I think was actually was quite powerful and positive. In that regard. Putting aside the consequences, I think for me as well, just having more time to invest in family and exercise, mainly because it wasn't commuting. And that prompted me to think about how I want to spend my time. And so trying to build that in it wasn't necessarily easy, because I was just easier to work more. So I've really had to force myself to put the boundaries in place and say no exercise first thing, building some reading time when I've dropped the kids off at school. So I've probably become more involved in my day. To day family life than I was before. Because I'm at home and I've got the time and I'm able to help with the kids more. So I think that's been a real positive as well. And lastly, I do hope that that these three thinking of how we work creates positive long lasting change. Do you know that it's not a flash in the pan and all that was something we had to do for COVID and now we just go back to the status quo. I really hope that it encourages organizations to rethink how they do things into the future. And I think we're already seeing this as well. With all of us agitating for what we want now because we've been doing it for a while and if it works for us, we want to keep doing it

Karen K  

Yeah. And I think that last year, there was that element of okay lockdown server, we cannot go back to the office. I think there were many businesses that went yeah, someone else can do these experiments. We'll just go back to what we were doing. Whereas these hits become much harder to do that and I think that's more of an acceptance now that yeah, this is something long lasting, that we really just, we can't fall back. Because two years is a long time, right? If you think about the way you were working in 2019 There's actually there's been a lot that's happened. It's been so I think it's difficult for business owners to us to go yet we're gonna get back to what we did in 2019.

Lachy Gray  

Yeah, for sure. And on on the flip side, I think about some of the top top challenges in the year I would say zoom fatigue would be up there. We swung so far over to the extreme AV meetings on Zoom and probably had more meetings in the early days last year or trying to get a sense of what's going on and wanting to stay connected. But the consequence of that was just really fatiguing everyone out. Yeah. I mean, I only had to do one strategy session on Zoom. Went for too long to know that yeah, we've gone too far. So I really learned from that. And I think also lack of boundaries between work and home I think has been really challenging. And that's what I'm learning about working fully remotely is that you have to put the boundaries in for yourself. You're not walking into an office at a certain time and then seeing everyone else come in and then everyone sort of drift off and grab some morning tea and then drift off for lunch. And then everyone's leaves in similar time and they're really strong signals. don't necessarily have that at home. I think I have to put those in for myself. And that can be hard, especially if you're tired. Just don't necessarily have the energy left. For more personal discipline. Yeah. Yeah, sure. And I think the third one has been just supporting mental well being and understanding I how to do that. Especially to how do you do it remotely? How do we check in on stuff and make sure they're okay and what are they not? How do we best support them remote? I found that very challenging because I was in a situation I've never been in before. And I wanted to help but I really just didn't know how so I was forced to, to learn it and to speak with the team and to come up with some some solutions there. So I think I found that really challenging as well.

Karen K  

Yeah. I think as challenging as that is, on the plus side, there have been a lot more conversations around mental health this year, which is great. Like it's much more normalized in the workplace, I feel in the last two years to be able to be open and honest and you know, not just about challenges that they're having, but also about I need to understand how to help someone else with their challenges. So So I think that's been really good. And you know, it's one of the things that we spoke to Kaylee when about in traveling. Whichever side it was a couple of episodes ago. That was episode six. Yeah, about Yeah, the whole idea of the Mental Health First Aid Kit in the workplace. So I think those have been really good. When you said zoom fatigue and it's kind of maybe laugh in sight at the same time because the last two days I've been on Zoom starting at 6am and yesterday, I was actually on Zoom for about eight hours of the day. Yeah, it was absolutely in my head. I went to bed at 830 last night with some migraine tablets. Because it's really hard and you know, on top of that, the other day, I've been doing some focus groups and you know, the things that in person, I would normally do them with butchers paper up on the walls and you'd have people walking around the room making notes and so as a facilitator, you can just walk around and just overhear conversations, you know, kind of stick your head in when you need to, but you're not really noticeable. Whereas when you do that on Zoom, which, although it's possible, like I use Google Docs instead of the butchers paper, we use breakout rooms but you're still you go into a breakout room, everyone sees you so they natural thing as they start speaking differently. They notice that you're there like so that's hard because as a facilitator that's more of a mental load because you're trying to find ways to get people feel more comfortable in that scenario. But also as a facilitator, not only are you managing these different breakout rooms, but you're also watching all these Google Docs. So I have really felt to protect the last two. And I do try and not have days like that because I did also learn that lesson last year but unfortunately sometimes the way things get sheduled it just lands there. So I do actually have a face to face workshop on Monday next week. I'm really looking forward to it. But I also had to go back through that particular workshop because I'd redesigned it for zoom and now I've got a redesign of the face so yeah, it's all part of being flexible, isn't it? And then yeah, the other thing you said was about boundaries. We're having kids and and that also struck a chord because we're one of the many, many schools that has been closed over the last month or so with having positive COVID cases. So even though the lockdowns are over, you still have these unexpected moments or kids back in. And yeah, and those lines are completely gone. And actually, one of my kids said to me, you know, when are you going to get a real job? Oh, and I said, Well, you may buy a real job. And he said, like, you know what, a cafe or something? And I said, but it's a dude, I work here like, what do you think I'm doing upstairs? He said, You're just on meetings all day. Yeah, what does that mean? When your kids are just like, yeah, that's not work. Like you're just in that house, you know? So yes, I think that means that those boundaries are gone. Yes. But I guess you know, broader because we're talking reflecting on this year and then going into next year. So I think we're seeing businesses able to experiment with their products and services like never before. There's lots of understanding from the market about those experiments. Customers are really quite forgiving. I've seen businesses that have said, you know, we're going to test this out. We'd like your feedback, and people are really actually happy to do that. So I hope that we will continue to see that next year. I really like that, you know, broader level of collaboration that we're seeing across businesses. Like you said, I think employees are feeling more comfortable and empowered to talk about mental health. And I think it's really positive that people are also feeling really empowered to talk about how they work best. And I feel we've seen a real shift in employee power for the first time in a long time, actually. Which may continue on into next year with people feeling really comfortable with actually saying no, you know, this is what I would like in the workplace and being really upfront about it. And I think, you know, also will hopefully continue to see more openness and collaboration between employers and their employees. And I was wondering about this the other day, or is it really also reflective, not just of what's happened, but also the fact that we've got a lot more Gen Y and Gen Zed in the workplace. And I was having a look at an infographic from McCrindle, who are social researchers in Australia. And it really breaks down the generations. It's such a fantastically simple way. And it shows the differences across the generations you know, in terms of words and things that they like to do in their free time but also just in terms of how they like to collaborate and be led. And it is that just really experimental collaborative, really involved. And I it did make me wonder, you know, is part of what's gone over the last two years, is that really helping that generation to have more of a say, in the workplace too?

Lachy Gray  

Yeah, how old are Gen Y's and Gen. Zed as

Karen K  

I know they don't they now because the Gen Zed is somewhere between 10 and 24. Or depends on who you who you believe, I guess in terms of generations, but McCrindle, they have on their thing 10 to 24 is for Gen Z, so they're more your graduates in the workplace. And they are your true digital natives. And then your Gen Y which is also what we call millennials. That's somewhere between that 25 to 35, depending on who you want to talk to and where you want to put the line. And so I think that that's a bulk of the workplace right now. And then us oldies or maybe it's just me that are old, you know, Generation X. Yep, you know, there's, there's quite quite a difference actually, when you when you look at those types of infographics and you realize that, you know, the way that we've been brought up is so different because of technology, and the expectations and the parenting and, and all that combines into these really different expectations in the workplace. And they just, they want to be listened to and they want to have a say, whereas as a Gen X, yeah, we've always wanted to be listened to what I had to say, but we didn't feel like we had the right to do that. I think that's the difference.

Lachy Gray  

Yeah, yeah. I think that that certainly resonates. You know, I think we might speak up but if it gets knocked on the head, it's like, oh, well, yeah. Tried and shared my ideas. Yeah, that's, yeah, that's what my experience that ya know, I guess for the younger workforces? Yeah, there's super passionate, especially about things like social impact, giving back to the community environment, and they're more likely to agitate for those things in a constructive way, but they've just just keep at it, because it's, I guess it's part of their core beliefs. And that's how they've, they've grown up believing that that's important and that they want to make a difference in that area. So yeah, they also want to work for an employer who share similar values and commitments. And I found it to be I found it to be more challenging initially, because I was sometimes asking hard questions. I don't know. But let's find out and then get them involved and what does that look like in designing for the future?

Karen K  

And I think that's the thing is, you know, at least you're willing to Yeah, let's find out because Generation X, you know, we, what was really influenced and got advice by the experts are practitioners of things whereas Gen Y go to their peers. Yeah. Because as Ed's go to forums, you know, they're on Discord. So, yeah, so it is actually being not just aware of yet the differences between us but also how do we how do we enable that and get the best out of the people that are in those different generations in our teams that do want different things. And I think that this change in the workplace with COVID has really enabled a lot of that to shine and as enabled, you know, those that don't necessarily belong. Very common in those generations to actually open up their mind a little bit as well go. Yeah, actually, I do want to work more flexibly. I do want more collaboration. I do want more empowerment, and and I can ask for that from my leaders.

Lachy Gray  

Yeah, absolutely. It's that it's okay to ask and it's okay to disagree. And I guess in a lot of business cultures, that hasn't been the case. You choose, you follow that top down hierarchy and you do what they say. And if you don't like it, you leave and that might still be true, but people willing to vote with their with their feet per se, but also they really care about where they're working, to have those conversations and feel like they're going to be listened to. I guess it takes time and investment isn't it in, in what in the in the intention to do it to listen to acknowledge that we're gonna have all the answers that for that to be okay. And it's can be hard for a leader because you want to appear like you know, what you're doing and you've got always got the answers, but I think in the last two years we've seen well, it's just not possible. No, one can know. So instead, it's about I think, being transparent about what we're thinking and we can still be confident even though we don't know what the future looks like. We can talk about where we are ideas and how we're going to approach it and invite feedback. So I really hope that his feedback loops persist. And I think for me that the takeaway is, I really hope this momentum continues and these conversations about which almost Yeah, I guess a step back out of day to day, almost existential, you know, how are we work? What's the purpose of an office? Why am I commuting five days a week? These are big questions, and we've got perhaps, a limited window in which to ask them and to create change off the back of them. Because it could be easy to start 2022 after a nice break. Just go back to the way things work, because that's always easier, but it might not necessarily be for the best. So I'm certainly trying to think in this way and trying to take the opportunity to continue to rethink the things that I take for granted or just assume that that's the way we do it. And really question why. Because I think if we can embed that into the culture, then that will help us to better ride out situations like this in the future, where again, huge amount of uncertainty and change and we don't really know, we've got to find a way through.

Karen K  

Yeah, absolutely. I think the takeaways for me is that as a business owner or leader we just need to be kind to ourselves. Yeah, it's been a really tough couple of years. And I think a lot of people have been suitably concerned about their their teams and their businesses. We don't always think about ourselves and I've sometimes directed people to Kristen Neff, who does a lot of research around what she calls self compassion. And it's all about if someone told you a story, how would you react, you know, Oh, I feel empathetic. I give them a hug. Okay, so that's your story, but when you are telling yourself that story, what are you doing, you're telling yourself you're not good enough. So so she really tries to spit it back to you know, you need to be as kind to yourself as you are to others and have that self compassion. So. So I think that's really important to reflect on as we come to the close of this year. Is how do we make sure that we're actually kind to ourselves as well as to other people. I think you can put the right hand we get that momentum and the conversations about the workplace and keep that open mind as to our workplace and how it might change. And I really really hope that we continue to be open and looking at ways that we can talk about mental health and well being and how we can support others through that as well. I think it'd be great to see that continue as well.

Lachy Gray  

Yeah, absolutely. I think there's Brene Brown, Vinci, Kristin Neff. I think they just research in a similar area.

Karen K  

Yeah, they do crossover from time to time on different podcasts and things as well as someone called Susan David for those who are interested in following someone else. Yeah, they have really a lot of crossover in their their research and similar monitor Yeah.

Lachy Gray  

Yeah, I think it's so true, that self compassion and it's like, you know, when you're in the airline with the oxygen mask on yourself first. I find that very difficult. I'm certainly at the beginning of that journey, and trying to understand well, how much time do I give to myself versus everybody else? To make sure that I'm the best I can be. And I'm looking after myself. Yeah, it's, yeah, it's certainly a journey in of itself.

Karen K  

Absolutely. Yeah. And it's really hard and you're just busy with everything else. Yeah, and it can feel very self indulgent as well. But you know, but it's so important because if you're not looking after yourself, then things will start to unravel. And it's not gonna help anybody really, so Well, thank you for this year. And for today, and links to things that we've discussed today will be over on our website, you can just follow the links to the podcast section@yahoo.com. Au or amplify hr.com.au And if you've received value from the episode, we'd love it. If you could leave a rating or review over at Apple podcasts.

Lachy Gray  

Yeah, thank you, listeners for your support in in 2021. I really hope you have a restful Christmas period. And thank you to you, Karen for your energy and insights throughout the year. I've learned a lot it's been, as you say, very, very challenging periods, but I am looking forward to recharging the batteries over Christmas is coming back to a fresh start in 2022.

Karen K  

Absolutely. Yeah, I agree. It's been great fun and it's been really interesting to me to be part of this podcast series with you. So thank you. Lachy. I really appreciate it. Any final thoughts from you?

Lachy Gray  

Well, I think just to your point, you just made around self compassion. I think that's, that's something that I'm certainly going to be focused on the last couple of weeks and over the Christmas break. And yeah, really keen to to start 2022 with some of the positives from from this year and hopefully make 2020 to a great one.

Karen K  

Yeah, well said thank you so much for joining us, and we hope to see you next time on the makeup work podcast.