The Project Book

CHAPTER 32 FIND THE RIGHT SPACE FOR WORK

In an informal survey I conducted on a Sydney street this morning, I found that by any measure everyone is different. This was confirmed even by the twins I questioned, which was a relief for my statistical analysis. Some were listening to music, some talking on their phones, some were talking with friends and colleagues, others just scurrying briskly to work. Some seemed to be doing their best to get killed crossing the road.

Any culture is a mix of introverts and extroverts. Great leaders know you need environments in which each may flourish. So why is it that most organisations create only two kinds of environment and then expect employees to produce their best work?

Most project and line managers continue to assume that meetings and workshops are the most effective mechanisms for collaboration. While this may be true for some people and some activities, it’s certainly not true of everyone and every activity.

The open-plan office layout now in vogue is linked to a more ‘agile’ way of working. While on the face of it, it might seem like a good idea to remove barriers and walls in order to improve face-to-face interaction and cut down on email, there is no proof whatsoever that it actually does so. In fact, quite the opposite seems to be true, with one Harvard review finding that people in open-plan offices spent 73 per cent less time in face-to-face interactions while email and messaging use shot up by over 67 per cent!

Different personalities ...