Sapphire Partners & London Business School Focus on Flexible Working
It was standing room only at London Business School on January 31, 2008, as executives from around London came to hear tips and stories from four senior women who have risen through the ranks while working flexibly. Kate Grussing, Managing Director and Founder of Sapphire Partners, moderated the panel. Some advice recurred throughout the evening:
- Be pragmatic and realistic – can your job be done flexibly? If not, can you propose an alternative way for the firm to use your skills so both parties are satisfied?
- Communication, communication, communication! There are times you may feel over-stretched at work, as a parent or spouse. Recognise it, reflect on what needs to change and communicate these needs to those around you. Be confident in what you need, and those around you will generally be supportive and follow your lead.
- Your flexibility needs will evolve. For example, your children’s needs will vary at different stages of their lives. Build a plan that works for you over the long term, but keep it flexible.
- Make peace with your decisions and yourself. Look at the big picture and what you are gaining from working flexibly and don’t focus on what you used to do under different circumstances. Live in the present and the possible. You may not be the first of your peers to be a Managing Director but you will have other opportunities and upside professionally and personally.
As the demand for flexible working marches on, it is important to remember how far we have come in a short time and how so many people are successfully integrating work with their lives. Here are a few words of wisdom from the candid panelists:
- Alice Breeden, a McKinsey management consultant working a 70% schedule, stressed the importance of creating relationships with managers and peers prior to going on leave, while on leave, and when returning so they are aware of your talents and receptive to your request to work flexibly.
- Sophie Castell, an independent marketing consultant, suggested that executives /employees should think of life in totality and assess work, family and personal pursuits will fit in. Be concrete in your vision of how life will work. Think in terms of life integration versus work-life balance.
- Gillian Lofts, a partner at Ernst & Young working 4 days a week, advised the audience to take one day at time. Take the time to think through new undertakings before embarking on them so you can plan ahead.
- Ellen Miller, a Managing Director at Lehman Brothers working 3 days a week, recommended serious self-reflection about work, family and personal goals.
In addition to making goals at work, make goals and plans for what you want to do in your time away from work and do not let that precious time slip away. Sapphire Partners, in partnership with the charity Working Families, is in April 2008 launching a new online tool for senior managers to evaluate their ability to work flexibly. The Working Families website has great up-to-date information on flexible working from both an employer’s and an employee’s perspective.
