The pace of change in the way that we work is accelerating faster than what leaders ever imagined possible. What felt like radical shifts driven by the pandemic ended up being the beginning of empowering individuals to do their best work while also leading better lives.
But achieving true flexibility -- not only in where but critically when people work -- requires overcoming decades of reflexes leaders have built up around “the right way to work” based on 9-to-5 days full of meetings in office buildings. And it requires building new reflexes, new skills, new strengths -- moving from resistance to re-design -- to lead with purpose, to coach rather than tell, and to believe that by letting go, you’ll get more back.
This is a how to-book that empowers leaders with the tools and tips to do better for their people and, in turn, their businesses. The insights draw from extensive original global research from Future Forum and case studies from a wide range of companies like Levi’s, Genentech, Salesforce, Slack, Royal Bank of Canada, and IBM, .
BRIAN ELLIOTT is Executive Leader of Future Forum, a consortium backed by Slack and founding partners Boston Consulting Group, MillerKnoll, and Management Leadership for Tomorrow. Future Forum enables leaders to redesign work to be better for people and organizations. He has spent three decades leading teams and building companies as a startup CEO, at Google, and now at Slack where he is a Senior VP. Brian’s a proud father of two young men.
SHEELA SUBRAMANIAN is Vice President and co-founder of Future Forum. She has 20 years of experience building high-growth global teams across Google, Slack, and startup organizations. As a champion for workplace equity, her work is cited in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fast Company, and other top-tier publications. Sheela earned her BA from Stanford and MBA from Harvard Business School and is the mother to two magical daughters.
HELEN KUPP is a co-founder and Senior Director of Future Forum. She has led many of Slack’s largest cross-functional and growth initiatives, and is the creator of many of Future Forum’s playbooks, tapping Future Forum’s research and networks along with her experiences at Slack, Bain & Company, startups, and her MBA from Harvard Business School. She’s also the lucky mom of two wonderful children.
Foreword by Stewart Butterfield
Introduction: The 9-to-5 Just Doesn’t Work for Us Anymore (and Maybe Never Did)
Why Flexible Work Works
How the Future Works: The 7 Steps to Getting There
Step 1: Stand for Something: Agree on Purpose and Principles
Step 2: Level the Playing Field: Create Guardrails for Behavior
Step 3: Commit to How You’ll Work: Develop Team-Level Agreements
Step 4: Experiment, Experiment, Experiment: Normalize a Culture of Learning
Step 5: Create a Culture of Connection from Anywhere: Reimagine Your Headquarters
Step 6: Train Your Leaders to Make It Work: Soft Skills Matter More Than Ever
Step 7: Focus on the Outcomes: Avoid the Doom Loop and Embrace the Boom Loop
Conclusion
Resources: Your Flexible Work Toolkit
Acknowledgments
Cast of Experts
About the Authors
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