eonetwork

Do bosses trust employees to be productive when working remotely?

A recent Microsoft study found that 49 percent of managers of hybrid workers “struggle to trust employees to do their best work.” This lack of trust in worker productivity has led to what Microsoft researchers termed productivity paranoia: “Where leaders fear that lost productivity is due to employees not working, even though hours worked, number of meetings, and other activity metrics have increased.”

That data aligns with a new report by Citrix based on a global survey of 900 business leaders and 1,800 knowledge workers—those who can do their job remotely. Half of all business leaders believe that when employees are working “out of sight,” they don’t work as hard.

That traditionalist perspective aligns with Elon Musk’s demand that all Tesla and SpaceX employees work full-time in the office—including knowledge workers. Musk has stated that remote workers only “pretend to work.”

Musk’s demand for improving productivity via full-time, in-office work for knowledge workers is something to which other traditionalist leaders aspire. A Microsoft survey shows that 50 percent of bosses intend to force knowledge workers into the office by Spring 2023. According to Future Forum, skepticism toward working from home tends to come from leaders over age 50. Leaders under age 50 are more accepting of hybrid and remote work and focus on how to do it well.

Is the belief of this traditionalist, older half of the business leadership that workers are more productive in the office based on facts? Not at all.

Even before Covid, peer-reviewed research demonstrated that remote work improved productivity. A NASDAQ-listed company randomly assigned call center employees to work from home or the office. Work from home resulted in a 13 percent performance increase and a 50 percent lower attrition rate. A more recent study from the Covid era with random assignment of programmers either to fully office-centric work or to some days worked remotely found that hybrid workers had 35 percent less attrition and wrote 8 percent more code.

Employee monitoring software confirmed that the shift to remote work during Covid improved productivity by 5 percent. And more recent research from Stanford University showed that remote work efficiency actually increased throughout the pandemic, from 5 percent better than in-person in May 2020 to 9 percent in May 2022. That’s because we learned how to be better at remote work.

And really, are workers all that productive in the office? Studies show that in-office employees actually work between 36 percent and 39 percent of the time, and spend the rest on non-work activities like surfing the web.

So why do half of all business leaders ignore the data? The key lies in how leaders evaluate performance: based on what they can see.

Unfortunately, leaders are trained to evaluate employees based on “facetime.” Those who come early and leave late are perceived and assessed as more productive.

Even before the pandemic, the focus on presence in the office undermined effective remote work arrangements. Thus, researchers found that remote employees who work just as hard and just as long as those in the office in similar jobs end up getting lower performance evaluations, decreased raises, and fewer promotions.

The problem here is the proximity bias. That term describes the unfair preference for and higher ratings of in-office employees, compared with remote workers, even when remote workers show higher productivity.

A related mental blindspot, confirmation bias, caused traditionalist leaders to ignore information that goes against the beliefs to which they’re anchored, and seek information that confirms their anchors. For example, they’ll seek evidence that in-office workers are more productive, even when there’s much stronger evidence that remote workers exhibit higher productivity. In other words, these leaders trust their own gut reactions, internal impressions, and intuitions over the facts, thus failing to develop self-awareness of how their mental processes might steer them to make bad decisions.

The consequence of this trust in false impressions around which type of work is more productive is leading to the unnecessary drama of forcing workers back to the office. And the traditionalist bosses who do so will continue to lose workers as part of the Great Resignation.

The Society for Human Resources found that 48 percent of respondents will “definitely” seek a full-time remote position for their next job. To get them to stay at a hybrid job with a 30-minute commute, employers would have to give a 10 percent pay raise, and for a full-time job with the same commute, a 20 percent pay raise. With a potential recession looming, which will limit pay raises and lead to a focus on actual productivity over false gut-based intuitions, we can expect a greater shift to more hybrid and remote work going forward.

To succeed in our increasingly hybrid and remote future will require retraining managers to address the proximity bias and evaluate performance based on productivity. Companies will have to teach them to trust the data over their own gut reactions.

Contributed to EO by Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, who helps EO members seize competitive advantage in hybrid work by driving employee retention, collaboration, and innovation through behavioral science as the CEO of the future-proofing consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts, and authored the best-seller Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams: A Manual on Benchmarking to Best Practices for Competitive Advantage.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog. 

Are you struggling to find new ways to motivate your work team? Are you brainstorming a marketing strategy or quarterly plan and feeling fresh out of new ideas? If so, it may be time to take a step outside.

When people think about adventures in the great outdoors, they probably disassociate those activities from the daily grind of the corporate office. Many people don’t realize, however, that nature can teach the most essential life lessons, especially when it comes to business. That’s right—from an overnight white water rafting trip to a days-long hike up a steep mountain, nature is an underrated mentor when it comes to business.

If you are a business owner or leader who is looking for new ways to collaborate and innovate with your team, consider taking a trip to the Rocky Mountains or Yellowstone National Park. The fresh air may not only help you out of your creative rut, but it can also provide inspiration for better collaboration and communication.

From my experience, here are four lessons Mother Nature can teach you about business:

1. Learn how to adapt quickly.

Many industries are in the midst of major shakeups right now. Business professionals, especially leaders, need to know how to adapt to change as quickly as possible in order to stay on top of changing needs and trends. By its very essence, nature teaches all who enjoy it how to respond to unforeseen circumstances. For example, if a tree has fallen and obstructed the trail you’re following, you must find another route. Or, if it starts to rain, you may need to explore creative ways to seek shelter. Business, like nature, can be chaotic, so it’s important to be flexible and stay humble.

2. Put “waste not, want not” into action.

If you went camping or hiking with a limited food supply, you probably wouldn’t waste any food or materials. Like expert outdoorsmen, great business leaders avoid wasting resources at all costs. They know how to work within a budget, and if there is a surplus, they allocate those resources to another need or project. They can assess current resources and make them last, which is especially important in shaky economic times.

3. Gain a new perspective.

Have you ever hiked to the very top of a tall mountain and looked at the world below you? If so, you probably gained a new perspective. Enjoying these activities in nature can help you see things differently when you are stuck on a problem at work that seems difficult or impossible to solve. If you are facing some type of professional obstacle, perhaps it’s time to look at the problem from a different angle to find the right solution.

4. Appreciate small details.

When you take a sailing trip or venture out to see a waterfall, you may notice a stunning sunset or a rainbow where the light glistens in the cascading water. These seemingly simple things can enhance your time outdoors and cause you to pause in gratitude. In business, it’s easy to get so busy that you forget to say “thank you” for the smallest things. Taking the time to notice the simple details in nature can encourage you to pause at work and recognize the things your employees or colleagues do exceedingly well that make a huge difference professionally.

While it may seem difficult to draw parallels between the typical workday and an excursion outdoors, Mother Nature can teach you many valuable lessons. It doesn’t matter if you are outdoors for a few hours or a few days. All you need to do is take a step outside, look around, and listen.

Contributed to EO by Patrick Sipp, the owner of Flying Pig Adventures, who helps his clients get back outdoors, where the spray of the river, the warmth of the sunshine, and the immensity of the world around are clear and present. Patrick is a family man who has turned his passion for the outdoors into a gateway for his guests to experience an adventure unlike anything else.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog. 

“Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. However, it allows you the freedom to explore all the spaces and crevices of your mind and abilities and work on your own terms,” said Natasha Miller, EO Los Angeles and EO US West Bridge member, and founder of Entire Productions.  “I couldn’t imagine another way of life for myself. But understand it’s not for everyone.”

It can, however, change your perspective on life. As Julia Duran of EO European Bridge chapter explains, “I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I was taught that if I wanted a comfortable and safe future, I had to work for someone else—ideally a large company. However, owning a business taught me that the opposite is also true: If I want a solid future, I’m the one who needs to make it happen.”

In recognition of Global Entrepreneurship Week, here’s how EO members from around the world responded when asked:

What is the best thing about being an entrepreneur?

Freedom to Live the Life we Dream

“In a word: Freedom. Freedom to create. Freedom to dream and execute. Freedom to make an impact in our community. Freedom to set my own goals, vision and mission. Freedom to invest in people and things that I feel are important. Freedom to succeed or fail on my own accord (though failure is just another opportunity). Entrepreneurship is Freedom to Live the Life we Dream.”

— Mike Bacile, EO Dallas, founder and CEO, The Daily Java

Contributing in a Positive Way

“Entrepreneurship means that we are creators and builders rather than destructive forces in the world. We can positively affect the lives of our team, clients and community. When we get it right it means that we are good citizens that contribute to our communities and the world.” 

—Stephanie Clark, EO Nebraska, co-founder and CEO, GMP Pros

Changing Lives

“Being an entrepreneur is the most meaningful job I’ve ever done. I was born in a small village without electricity. Education changed my life. I came a long way to reach where I am now: a social entrepreneur who is founder and president of a foundation that supports girls whose dreams do not fit the life they live—like me in my youth. That is why I support university education of young women. I believe in the transformative power of education. With education, a woman changes, she changes generations, and then the world changes. For this aim, I will work until I die.”

— Meryem Salman, EO Turkey, partner and vice chairman +partner, Finance & Insurance and founder, Buldan Foundation

Facing Challenges Confidently

“Being an entrepreneur has pushed me to acquire new skills and face challenges actively. I never know what competencies I will need for my future ideas to materialize, but I will grow confidently in that direction. Entrepreneurs live between the uncertainty of risks and the excitement of upcoming adventures.” 

— Julia Duran, EO European Bridge Chapter and EO Silicon Valley, co-founder and CEO, SouthGeeks 

Creating Impact

“Entrepreneurship is the number one change agent in the world. I’m honored to work with partners and employees to create businesses that change the world. I was drawn to entrepreneurship for the freedom of lifestyle, and have learned that my most fulfilling moment is when we create products that help others impact the world!”

—Patrick Bryant, EO Charleston, founder and CEO, Go To Team

Opportunity to Fix What’s Broken

“Entrepreneurship provides opportunities: the opportunity to grow intentionally (I’m attending EO with Harvard Business School); the opportunity to live flexibly (my family and I spent September hiking the Pacific Northwest); and the opportunity to give back consistently (mentoring other founders, serving on boards, investing in employees, etc.). But the greatest is the opportunity to fix what’s broken. Entrepreneurship is an innately iterative process. Sometimes you fail, and it sucks. But the next day, you have the opportunity to get up and make it better. It’s all inside yourself and nobody can take that away from you.”

—Daniel Roberts, EO Atlanta, founder and CEO, Friendly Human and VidLoft

Improving Our World

“The best thing about being an entrepreneur is having the ability to make and build things that improve our world, our climate, and the lives of our customers and employees.”
—Kyle Ewing, EO Colorado, founder and CEO, TerraSlate

Freedom and Disruption

“The three best parts of being an entrepreneur:

• Location Freedom: I can travel the world while growing my business—fulfilling my dream to live across the globe. 
• Position to Change Lives: I was able to grant location and schedule freedom to our 250+ team members, allowing each to engineer their ideal lifestyle.
• Disruption: Market failures are the bane of my existence. It kills me seeing people or companies struggle when there is a better way out there! As an entrepreneur, I can turn industries on their head by disrupting them with innovative products.”

—Kean Graham, EO Vancouver, founder and CEO, Monetize More

Realizing Dreams

“You are constantly sharpening your skills by learning from failures and improving your personal self — every day. You start to accept that making mistakes becomes a part of your journey when your goal and vision is clear. Even if you started with a vision that was a bit selfish, over time your vision becomes about the people who work for you to make your dream a reality. When your people truly appreciate your empathy and understanding, they work really hard to achieve your dream.”

—Tony Raval, EO San Diego, founder and CEO, FrescoData

A Life of Free Will

“Entrepreneurship to me means living the best version of myself every waking moment because this is a life I crafted for myself. I am essentially living a life of free will, the capacity to make choices that fulfill my desires and dreams, and hold only myself accountable. “ 

—Alicia Chong, EO Philadelphia, founder and CEO, Blu Monaco

Freedom of Time

“The best part of being an entrepreneur is the freedom of time it can provide. Now in my 20^th year of my company, I spend my time working “on” bigger picture, visionary ideas vs. working “in” the business. This also gives me time to give back to my local community through several volunteer boards and EO. The EO Path of Leadership for both my local chapter and now region is both challenging and rewarding. The more I give, the more I receive. I feel lucky to spend an increasing amount of my time working with other outstanding entrepreneurs, learning, and growing into the best version of me. Freedom of time has been the best gift I could ever give myself.”

—Cameron Johnson, EO Edmonton, president, California Closets Alberta

Improving Lives Daily

“Improving lives daily: It’s both our company motto and the best part of being an entrepreneur. We employ 40-plus women—many are moms who work from home while juggling households and families. Watching how what we do every day improves the lives of our people and clients—it’s phenomenal!”

—Jim Jacobs, EO Philadelphia, founder and CEO, Focus Insite

Leading with Higher Purpose

“The best thing about being an entrepreneur is the ability to show people the innate potential of business to make the world a better place, and therefore change their perception of capitalism at large. As a conscious capitalist, I believe in leading with a higher purpose that integrates the interests of all stakeholders, including everyone the business touches and the planet we all share together. My mission is to inspire current and future leaders to look into what is truly important in the world, and choose a mission that both feeds their passion and does right by their community. As entrepreneurs, we have the unique ability to demonstrate that business can and should be guided by purpose, not just profit.”

—Kent Gregoire, US East Bridge Chapter, founder and CEO, Symphony Advantage and a Certified Conscious Capitalism Consultant

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog. 

By Marc Stöckli, Global Chair, Entrepreneurs’ Organization

The strength of entrepreneurs has always been their ingenuity in resilience – their ability to triumph through adversity, devise new ways to push the world forward in dire times and inspire their communities to come back stronger.

In recent years we’ve seen several situations where this quality has been desperately needed – turmoil, conflict and crises have become a constant undertone. But what we’ve also seen in these situations is how entrepreneurs have come together to help people, to lend the strength and tools to rebuild.

This is why I believe in the power of EO and our members – I’ve witnessed so many real-life stories that prove the extent of our efficacy when we come together; how we can move the world forward by unlocking our full potential as leaders. What I love about entrepreneurs is that they do not wait in the aftermath of disasters or crises. They roll up their sleeves and find solutions. They are the drivers of change and the ones who rebuild countries from within, carrying entire communities on their shoulders.

As we mark Global Entrepreneurship Week (14-20 November), I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to celebrate some of the many heroic business leaders across EO’s membership, and the gift of a community that brings us together to solve problems with the tools and enterprises that empower self-reliance.

I begin in Eastern Europe. We have all witnessed the destruction of the war in Ukraine – displacement and devastation have left an indelible mark on the nation, and spurred a damaging ripple effect on food supplies, energy security and global supply chains. As soon as the conflict began, EO members in Poland, Romania and all across the globe organized to offer vital life support.  

What started as essential supplies for refugees fleeing Ukraine turned into a wider plan to support the long-term health of entrepreneurs that remained in the country – buying goods from them, supporting their businesses and ensuring they had the resources necessary to continue trading. So far, more than $700,000 in support has been directed by our members to local businesses. Bravo!

The help given to business owners is so incredibly valuable because it supports a country rebuilding from the ground up, while restoring a crucial part of a thriving community. It enables the ripple effect.

This year Pakistan was faced with devastation of a different kind: unprecedented floods that killed more than 1,700 people, including 600+ children, and injured another 12,000 more. Some 2.1 million people were displaced from their homes—many made homeless—and the country was forced to declare a state of emergency. The EO Lahore chapter came together quickly with EO Karachi and EO Islamabad in establishing three committees to support entrepreneurs and their communities in affected areas, helping them rebuild in the aftermath of the worst floods in Pakistan’s history.

These committees focused on directing ways to help deliver safe drinking water, lifesaving medical supplies, therapeutic food supplies and hygiene kits to heavily impacted families and children, but they also focused on empowering people to rebuild for themselves, to avoid creating dependence. One initiative in particular stands out: an entire group focused on equipping Pakistan’s enterprises with the tools to grow business right there in their country. Entrepreneurs established a bazaar with 70 shops, made it operational in less than two weeks and helped more than 100 families whose livelihoods were at risk. All of this was done by EO members, who both planned and strategized but also joined on the ground to help make it all possible.

Another amazing story of entrepreneurial progress comes from the southern tip of Africa, where a Canadian-based EO member from South Africa founded a company to help bridge the digital skills divide in the country. WeThinkCode recruits and trains young people to become software engineers, closing the skills gap and providing new career opportunities. Their user community is made up of 91% students who are from low-income households, 94% black students and 50% who are young women. The programme has proven revolutionary with 94% of students finding full-time employment after graduating, on average doubling their salary in the first two to three years and using those earnings to support their parents and families. Amazing.  

Every day, EO members amaze me with their ability to inspire, pivot, rebuild and reimagine a better world for their communities and ours. This Global Entrepreneurship Week, I humbly celebrate and applaud our incredible network of business leaders who work tirelessly to support, not only their employees and customers, but each other and their extended communities in times of need. I would name you all here, but that would make this a much longer read. You know who you are and how much we admire you.

This is how we move the world forward and unlock our full potential. Together we grow.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog. 

By Dr. Carrie Santos, CEO of Entrepreneurs’ Organization

2017 feels like a very long time ago. The world has changed significantly. A global pandemic. A brutal war. A stressful squeeze on global supply chains. A surge in extreme weather disasters. The rise of ‘fake news’. It is a time that has tested many of us.

Yet, as I mark five years leading the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) as its CEO, it’s a good time to reflect on five key insights gained from such a remarkable community of business founders. These are lessons I have learned, thanks to all of you. 

EO’s members are builders, founders, owners and leaders in their own right. Each possesses the unique traits of entrepreneurship. When I took over as CEO, I quickly realized the challenges ahead: how to best serve, unite and lead other leaders. Which of my experiences could have the greatest impact on an already successful group of people? How can I help them grow as individuals, and help us grow as a community?

I have learned so much from EO in these last five years. Let me share five of my takeaways, gained by learning together with such extraordinary people. Some might be helpful for you, too.

1. Actively listen to find the gold

Learning is a full-time job: 24/7, 365 days a year. We must always be primed to learn, because we never know where or when someone might share something we didn’t know we needed to hear.

At EO, we are lucky to have such a wide range of experience and expertise across our membership that the moments of real insight are everywhere. We are offered in conversation with each other what I describe as little golden nuggets of wisdom. But we need to be present and listen, or we will miss them. In the moment, on the job, experiential learning can happen, so long as we are always open to insight. It can be how to handle a customer complaint, how to stay calm when your teenager is exasperating, or how to deal with a parent’s dementia. When you believe you can learn from each person’s wisdom, you will find it.

2. Look for the global context in local business conversations (and vice versa)

With members in more than 70 countries, EO is truly global, but that does not mean that our members around the world share the same culture, views or experiences. Local context is so important, and is vital for shaping a person’s worldview. We start to see the commonalities that connect us. Those shared concerns and dreams.

I have been privileged to travel extensively over the last five years and I have gained new perspectives on issues that I thought I well understood. Different countries have different mixes of industries, and within them, different challenges, but also unique successes. Entrepreneurs everywhere are wired similarly, even as they work in varying environments. Again and again, I get to watch members from different continents connect as they realize they appreciate the same business guru, fitness coach or author.

3. Know and practice our failure narrative

This should be second nature to a community of big-thinking and bold-acting founders who are well-versed in picking themselves up, dusting themselves off, and starting again when things did not work out the first, second, or even third time: know your failure narrative.  It was new to me after arriving at EO to learn that I did not have to keep on my armor of perfection and infallibility, and there was much more to learn by being vulnerable about my weaknesses and disappointments.

Without being honest with ourselves about why our strategies went awry, we cannot improve. The most successful entrepreneurs do not get wrapped up in the blame game, and instead say, “hey, what can we learn from this?”

The same holds true in the stories we tell each other. We know when listening to someone who insists their life is one success after another, we tune out because they are not being honest with us or honest with themselves. But when we look inside to those tough lessons that shaped us, and we share our full narrative, others can also see themselves. That support we get when we show ourselves not at our best—and realize we are accepted even more—makes it possible to transform and to move forward. Stepping back and seeing a mishap as a learning opportunity is like entrepreneurial magic.

4. Thank people who challenge us

This is so simple once you realize it. If we do not thank people for challenging our thinking, for stress-testing our ideas, or for pushing back on our instructions, then they will never do it again.

Diversity of thought is so key to progress, and we must do everything in our power to encourage that. It starts with thanking those who stand up to us. Give yourself a moment if you need to, put down your defenses. Say thank you. And be sure you mean it.

5. Be ready to let go – even when trying to build a consensus

Even the smartest person in the room’s idea will be improved by a fresh point of view. I know plenty of people who pay lip service to generating consensus, but then dismiss new ideas because they are already set on what they want. Instead of listening for what is good in someone else’s idea, they are running through in their head how to win more people to their side and push harder. 

If we took the energy we spend on defending our approaches and focused instead on putting the elements of different ideas together, we would get a much better outcome. 

Creativity should not be an individual sport we try to win for having the best idea. It takes much deeper creativity to combine what is best from multiple points of view and design a shared outcome. Learning this is a team sport that is one of the most challenging leadership skills to master. Partnerships must be equal and genuine. If we are only focused on what we want when we enter a dialogue, then we have missed an opportunity to build a real relationship with our peers. The bonding and buy-in we get when everyone knows the outcome is truly a collective effort is unparalleled. 

Truly, my most rewarding and memorable experiences at EO these past five years were spent in collective problem-solving. You start the day with your preferred solutions and approaches, and by the end of the day, the group’s accomplishments far surpass anything you might have imagined on your own. Imagine how constructive it would be if we all practiced this not just in our businesses, but in our countries, communities and families! Imagine how we could unlock our full potential to move the world forward.

Who knows what challenges and learnings the next five years ahead may hold? With these takeaways from my first five years at EO, and skills in listening, honesty and collaboration, it’s clear that the future is limited only by our imagination. Whatever may come, I feel a deep sense of gratitude and respect for the thousands of amazing entrepreneurs and business leaders across EO and our partner organizations who have helped shape and strengthen me and our team along the way. Leading EO is an honor and an education.

Happy Global Entrepreneurship Week!

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog.