Open offices or more walls? ... The Washington Post says Google’s got it wrong

Here's an interesting thought to start the year: The Washington Post says Google has got it wrong - we need less open offices and more walls.1

This is all part of creating a sense of belonging through work environments.

It sounds simple, doesn't it: less walls means more openness. But like many belonging challenges, designing the right office space is more complex than the surface solutions.

The trade-offs between transparency and intrusion, camaraderie and noise, shared accountability and personal privacy - it's a cultural minefield. One person's openness can be another person's restraint.

The article's author, Lindsey Kaufman, talks of her experience in a New York advertising agency.

"Our new, modern Tribeca office was beautifully airy, and yet remarkably oppressive. Nothing was private."

The environment we work in, and the opportunity for both collective and individual spaces, has a big influence on our sense of belonging. And yet we can take it for granted, this powerful symbol of an organisation: "it's just how we do things". 

Workplace environment is one of the parameters we assess in our Belonging Audits. It has a big impact on culture and behaviour.

One creative agency I worked in had a particularly lively culture and high level of camaraderie. It was tough to find a quiet place to think - which undermined our  purpose: to solve problems.

As one colleague bemoaned:

"Sometimes the hardest place to work -                             is work."

Yet it was culturally unacceptable to work at home.

"How do I know you're working if you're not here?"


"Er... because I'll do the work. It'll get done and it'll better."
"Nah..."

The compromise became vague diary slots with 'meetings', popping out, furtively, to a café in order to think and write.

The 21st Century business luxury may be less about technology, funky slides or ping pong tables - and more about available space.

To make the best of what you have, here are a few points of good practice we've seen in action:

1. Provide different kinds of spaces for different tasks and contexts. Individual or team working, informal and formal meetings, open and private.

2. Create standing-up meeting points in front of a board: takes less space than conference rooms, keeps people alert and focused.

3. Preserve a quiet space with old-fashioned library ssshh-rules.

4. Stay well ahead of guidelines on proximity of desks and people: don't keep squishing more people in.

5. Respect a polite 'please don't interrupt me' code: headphones, desk flags, urgent messages only via paper notes in envelope - all work better than grumpiness.

The work environment is just one of the many ways to build a sense of belonging. Get it right and belonging can help your business - but if you misfire it can also harm.

We'll be looking at this, and the other parameters of belonging, in our seminar on 11 February 

'The business power of belonging: how it helps and harms organisations' 

Come and join us to explore more.

Belonging Space helps leaders create a sense of belonging in their organisations.

www.belongingspace.com

info@belongingspace.com

Read Lindsey Kaufman's article here:

1 https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/30/google-got-it-wrong-the-open-office-trend-is-destroying-the-workplace/

Culture of ethics: catching people in rather than out

"It's alright, When people do something wrong we'll catch them out"
the Head of Risk Compliance told us

The compliance guy's view sounds sensible, doesn't it, in the circumstances. Except that catching them out afterwards is already too late.

This was a global engineering firm, in rehabilitation with the regulator after a fine and prosecution for a serious ethical misconduct.

I was running a programme of ethics and values with them and their CEO who said 

"We need to build a culture of ethics"

But in fact catching-people-out undermines a culture of ethics. 

It's more important to catch-people-in: so that they know they have done the right thing. 

This helps avoid doing the wrong thing, and helps people know why it all matters. That's the best way to avoid ethical contraventions and keep on the fair side of the regulator.

In the same client company, the CEO shared concerns that it was taking too long to recover market position and investor confidence. After damage to reputation it was much harder to heal relationships than they expected.

The COO was worried about lack of innovation,  too long to get things to market - competitors were beating them. 
And the biggest concern was lack of collaboration. The problem of silos and infighting between divisions and constituent businesses was worse then ever. People pulled back into small teams and cabals.
Well of course they did. They were scared of being caught out.

Far from making the company stronger, the whole ‘catching-them-out’ approach had caused another huge problem:
inertia 

We saw all the cultural symptoms:

• People looking over their shoulder…
• Afraid to ask a question or check…
• Lack of trust between colleagues…
• Restricts ideas...
• Creates dependency...
• Crushes confidence...

This will kill the business.

No risk, no gain.

Inertia is a crippling business risk. 

How do you take the right risks with the right safety measures? 

Manage risk rather than avoid it?

By catching people in.

The regulatory bodies are no soft touch. It's not a question of paying a fine and getting on with business as usual. The company has to show how they’ve changed, especially how culture has changed, how this can be measured and sustained.

To do this, organisations need a clear code of conduct and careful management legal and conduct risk. They need to provide guidance to make every day decisions, and an environment of candour and confidence around risk.

• Reinforce the guidelines
• Show what ‘doing the right thing’ means, and why this matters
• Provide context overall and relevance to each part of the business
• Help people navigate the grey areas

With the engineering company, we made the principles really clear and trained managers in using a toolkit. Catching people in was a big part of the success. 

• Reaffirm good decisions
• Share what’s gone wrong in a way that people can learn how to do it better
• Share what’s gone right and how this helped to manage risk
• Acknowledge the small actions and choices made every day
• Say thank you for taking the time to listen or for raising the issue so we can manage the risk

Upholding ethics needs to be a fast reaction. This works best when people are confident about doing the right thing – not because someone’s watching or telling you what to do.

That’s why ethics comes down to commitment more than compliance: Doing the right thing because you WANT to, not just because you have to.

And commitment begins with Belonging, choosing to uphold the principles of the organisation you belong to. Belonging makes ethics a team thing: shared responsibility.

This is far more powerful - and commercially productive - than an army of compliance officers telling you what you can't do.

Go on, find a colleague who’s done the right thing: catch them in.

We help organisations create a culture of ethics and belonging

Drop a line if you'd like to try our toolkits for 'How to deal with ethical dilemmas' and 'Catching people in' 

isabel@belongingspace.com
www.belongingspace.com


See also
Freedom to Speak Up: Candour and ethics
http://belongingspace.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/freedom-to-speak-up-candour-leads-to.html

Culturevist and other (positive and respectable) C-words

Plenty of inspiration at the Culturevist event last night, in (positive and respectable) C-words.

Matt Partovi set up Culturevist just over a year ago, as a forum for Culture Activists.

He said he was 

"looking to find people who felt as passionately as I do about culture in business, to share ideas and challenges". 

He was happy if five people turned up to the first event: he reached over 80. 

And last night, the 9^th meet-up, 120 people took part, from all kinds of professional background and stages of life.

The theme was:

"Open Source Culture: What happens when everyone has a say?"

The format, five speakers with five-minute presentations, sparked stimulation.

Our hosts yesterday were ustwo, a global digital product studio with a particularly open and vibrant culture.

In ustwo's environment of structured-randomness - comfy sofas, drawings on the pillars, goldfish, and a tailor's dummy in a pink wig - we loosened quickly into an open conversation ourselves. Beyond the surface this was far more than the trappings of yet another groovy Shoreditch agency. 

Clarity and candour

Collin Lyons shared 11 key points of what makes the culture tick at ustwo, beginning with why you will never forget your first day as a member of the team

"Because you will be given the best welcome you will ever get, from everybody, all day". 

You are quickly, completely, invited in as part of the group.

The principle of openness and transparency runs through everything. 

"But it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Being this open means facing some tough issues".

In his next two points: 

- Hire for culture

- Communicate transparently

Collin shared the benefits of candour: deep principles with practical application and the commitment of all employees.

Perry Timms has tweeted notes on Collin's full list. 

Size is important for an open culture. There are around 200/220 people at ustwo globally, but a principle to have no more than 120 in any one studio. Clever, keeping just below Dunbar's number of 150, will help to keep a sense of Belonging and community. 

As always, when culture drives business success, it's not just nice: it has a point. For ustwo openness is essential for the demands of digital development. The work they do is fast, requires agility and constant iteration. The goal is to get things out and working, improvement rather than perfect and absolute. So if team members are not direct, or if small groups are huddled separately from each other, that will block the flow. 

Openness makes for  commercial health as well as personal reward at work, everybody thrives as a result.

Culture Hacking and Mapping

Esko Reinikainen @reinikainen of The SatoriLab 

introduced himself as a Culture Hacker who works for government helping to build culture for people who don't know what it is and don't want it.

A Finn based in Wales getting public bodies to change the way they think and interact: Esko surely has plenty of cross-cultural experience.

His specialism is how to narrow the gap between what we say and what we do. He gave an example of company whose claims of  

“We have an open culture”

were trashed in the daily reality of  

“My manager says if I know what's good for me I'll keep my mouth shut”.

Generously Esko has shared an example of the Culture Map, developed with David Gray, via twitter @reinikainen 

Coupling top-down with bottom-up

Laura-Jane Parker talked through experiences of nurturing culture at Direct Line after the split away from Royal Bank of Scotland: a tale of DeBelonging and ReBelonging. 

She shared the importance - alongside bottom-up development - of top-down leadership of values and culture. Culture belongs to everyone but leaders must, well, lead. As soon as leaders use the language of 'Us' and 'Them' the unity of culture is lost. The values are just nice words on a wall, not reality.

Commitment

Nick Matthews of Yammer's gave us three rules for openness

1) You really have to want to do it 

2) Choose your medium 

3) Leaders must lead 

He described commitment with no compromise. 

"If you want an open culture you have to really go for it".

Control and community

William Higham, a futurist from The Next Big Thing Company, pointed out how connected we are in almost every aspect of life: except at work. Organisations have much to catch up on to make culture and internal communication as connected as contact with customers.

He pointed us to two Cs for the future of corporate culture- Contol and Community. Control not just by those at the top, but in an agile way across the business. Community in a more fluid exchange of like minds and support, all connected.

Conversation

The quietly incisive Tom Nixon of Nixon McInnes suggested we all introduce ourselves with 

"What I need is..." 

so that we could match up conversations to offer appropriate support.  

It worked a treat. Plenty of evidence for David Gurteen's @Davidgurteen research on the power of conversations in business. 

(Un)Conference

And finally, Matt's specialism, a short unconference where people offered a subject and self-managed discussion in small groups.

Conclusion

Open source culture can make a powerful difference to organisations' success: and it takes commitment to keep it up.

One year in to Culturevist, there is an open conversation in this group. And, with the lightest-touch of control and intuitive culture, a clear sense of Belonging.

We even have some symbols (badges!) and habits - we like loose structure, fluidity and informal environments. We Culturevists share a purpose, and an ethos, we have developed a community and camaraderie. And we're keen to put our shared talents to mutual support and good use.

Well done Matt and Culturevists: we set out to chat and have built a community.

 

Join the next Culturevist event

http://www.culturevist.com/about/

@culturevist 

Does your organisation have a strong sense of belonging?
Talk to us about how to create effectiveness from Belonging.
 
isabel@belongingspace.com
www.belongingspace.com

The formal and informal symbols of Belonging: Welshness in a NATO goody-bag

A powerful aspect of Belonging is in the symbols that represent identity.

Not only the formal symbols of flags, heraldry and iconic buildings. For organisations and nations, culture is revealed most in the informal symbols: What we eat, how we behave, how we greet each other.

This is one of the parameters we use at The BelongingSpace to assess Belonging and culture. We identify the way symbols are used by people and organisations to represent Belonging.

So it was interesting to see what was included, to sum up Wales and Welshness, in the goody-bag, given last Friday to world leaders going home from the NATO summit hosted in Newport, Wales.

A tough challenge. Can any list of national symbols avoid being dry and caricatured?

David Cameron said he wanted to "promote Welsh businesses and culture".

But does this modest list of items really sum up the character of Wales?

A humble basket of gifts in a willow basket, held out from the tiny Principality to the noble world leaders.  

(See full list at the end of this article.)

 

The rugby ball and the selection of Dylan Thomas were unavoidable. The natty Corgi socks are apparently The Prince of Wales’ favourite. The whisky from Penderyn - the only Welsh distillery - will chase away any maudlin tendencies. 

The digital art is a modern take on ancient landscapes. The willow, slate and gold showcase natural resources and crafts. Newport’s famous Transporter Bridge represents engineering.

And great to see UK technology in the marvellous RaspberryPi, built in Wales.

Maybe the Welshcakes hold a symbol of the Welsh psyche - pragmatic, straightforward, warm hearted: plain ingredients giving a surprisingly delicious treat.

But overall it’s a bit disappointing. Despite real commitment from craftspeople and businesses, the goody bags have undersold Welsh industry and impact.

David Cameron spoke about  

“Wales’ strong defence and aerospace sectors… fine examples of its strong heritage in craftsmanship and food too.”

But he’s made Wales look parochial.

It’s as if Myfanwy Price has pottered along her sweetshop shelves and Mrs Organ Morgan has grabbed a few things from the back of her store.

(For full Welsh flavour, hear these characters in Dylan Thomas’ poem ‘Under Milk Wood’ read by Richard Burton)

No mention, in the going-home bag, of the scale of Welsh industry and invention.

No reference to the global contribution from the other (beyond Thomas) great Welsh heroes: the actors, writers, scientists, the social reformers, Nye Bevan the pioneer of the NHS.

No sharing, in the scrumptious foods, of the diversity held within Wales strong communities.

No hint, in the presentation, of the Welsh hewn-from-granite spirit or so-straight-it’s-more-unbearably-funny sense of humour. What would Rob Brydon make of it all?

And, hang on - Welshness in a bag, and NO MUSIC?!!

Happily, the Prince of Wales treated the leaders to live performances by musicians from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the Welsh National Opera Brass Consort, and his very own Official Harpist Hannah Stone.

But they needed a reminder to take back home.

You have not experienced Welshness (or music) till you've been engulfed in the full power of a Welsh choir singing 'Cwm Rhonda’.

(sung here heartily by Morriston Orpheus Choir)

A cliché, maybe: and a symbol worth having.

Unique singing unmatched even by the great Russian sound (stick that, Putin) or the high intellect of German conductors (sorry Mrs Merckel) or the refinement of Italian opera (mi dispiace, but it’s hard to keep up with Italian Prime Ministers).

Human voices, in richest harmony, the resonance bouncing off your heart: the essence of humanity.

Exactly what this NATO meeting - depressingly on the edge of conflict rather than unity - needed.

Sadly, one symbol of NATO's challenges at the summit was upfront on its web page in the four languages listed:

English, French, Russian, Ukrainian

An irony of language betrays the old Wales-England tension: in Cymraeg, “Cymru”means “land of fellow countrymen”; in English, “Wales” means “land of foreigners”.
Belonging and not belonging

So does the basket of goodies sum up what the people of Wales see in themselves?

Who better to ask for comment than a Welsh identity expert: Rebecca Price, MD of Frank Bright and Abel.

“What ultimately defines Welsh identity is the people. From Neil Kinnock to Tom Jones, from Rhys Ifans to my mum’s 'pillar of the local chapel' next door neighbour, we’re people with heart, gently self mocking, who never take ourselves too seriously. I am who I am, because I’m Welsh. 

 It means I’m direct, with no varnish or gloss and laugh to the toes of my shoes.”

(I was looking for a couple of lines: Rebecca, mentioning a love of language, sent me an eloquent essay on her national identity which I have published fully on the next blog) 

The formal symbol, the red Welsh dragon, sat proudly opposite the US stars and stripes on Obama's car on a visit to a Newport primary school.

And yet - for anyone proud of the interdependence of nations in the United Kingdom - while we face the possibility of losing the blue of the Scottish Saltire from the Union flag, there is no symbol of Wales represented in it.

Will we have to replace the blue with the black and yellow of the St David's flag?

Symbols in action?

The Newport summit gave a great global profile to Wales.

Will these symbols have a lasting impact?

I wonder if the leaders will wear their Welsh gold cuff links and bracelets, or keep their bathroom items in the little willow basket, or whether President Obama will throw his rugby ball across the White House lawn?

Our symbols of heritage can hold us together and stand us apart: choose them carefully.

How can organisations select symbols that really represent them?

A few tips to avoid the predictability of the Newport baskets:

-     Remember it’s in the informal symbols that culture is truly revealed

-     Look deeper than the obvious literal symbols, to richer experience

-     Look broader at both heritage and ambition, diverse perspectives

-     The simpler the better

-     Listen to the phrases used in everyday exchange

-     Bring home the senses: the simple tastes, sounds, touch, sights and smells, of every day

-     Pin down what people share, and take for granted, in their community

-     Find what makes people laugh

-     Ask people what they are most proud of

   
Or capture the fleeting moments - as with Welsh singing – in which we share common heritage and make stronger connections.

What are the symbols - formal and informal - that sum up your country?

Talk to us about how to create a sense of Belonging.

isabel@belongingspace.com

www.belongingspace.com

twitter@IsabelBelonging

Here's the full list of the NATO goody bag from WalesOnline

- Willow baskets, handcrafted using willow grown in South Wales by Caerphilly based Hatton Willow, Cardiff maker Seren Willow and Out to Learn Willow from Ogmore;

- Personalised Nato coasters made from Welsh slate made by Valley Mill;

- A commemorative piece crafted by the Royal Mint, designed by engraver Jody Clark and produced at Llantrisant;

- Locally produced Welsh cakes supplied by Celtic Manor resort;

- Cufflinks and bracelets produced using Welsh gold by Clogau jewellers;

- Honey made by Hilltop Honey in Caersws;

- Whisky bottled by the Penderyn Distillery;

- Welsh rugby balls, representing Wales’s national sport, presented by the Welsh Rugby Union;

- A book of “Selected Poems by Dylan Thomas” presented by Orion Publishing;

- Woollen journals woven by Jane Beck and Nia Hobbs in Ceredigion;

- Woollen socks produced by family-run Corgi Hosiery, based in Carmarthenshire;

- Prints of a photograph of Newport Transporter Bridge taken by Pradip Kotecha, which won the Iconic Newport photography competition presented by the competition’s organisers, University of South Wales;

- Framed prints of iPad paintings of “400 iconic views of Newport” by artist Joseph Anthony Connor;

- A Sony Raspberry Pi credit-card sized computer, built at Pencoed, near Bridgend;

- Taylors Welsh Crisps, made from potatoes ‘born and raised in Wales’;

- Fudge created by Eboni ac eifori in Pwllheli, and the Fudge Fairy sweet shop in Caldicot;

- Chocolates and sweets handmade by Michelin trained pastry chef Beverly Reed, from Creative Food in Newport;

- Ties from Port Talbot based First Corporate Clothing; and

- Bags from Red Hat Printing in Newport, produced by Ralawise in North Wales and Weston Mill.

A message from the Prime Minister inside the gift basket reads: “During this summit you will see many examples of Wales’ strong defence and aerospace sectors. Here are some fine examples of its strong heritage in craftsmanship and food too.

“From the poems of Dylan Thomas and the craftsmanship of the Royal Mint to produce being made today in Wales, I hope you will enjoy each of these gifts and be inspired by them to find out about all that Wales has to offer.”

Find more on our work on Belonging at www.belongingspace.com