So glad it is helpful Patty!

Jane, thank you for expanding the conversation here. I feel your frustration – and the frustrations you cite are real problems for so many organizations who aren’t honest about their work or what it costs. And I’m right there with you (even as business owner) about want to work in a healthy way.

The need for clear expectations, boundaries, and communication about all of these things is critical for teams and managers. And you’re spot on that leaders often implement projects without a clear understanding of the impact (here’s an article to help with communication in those situations: https://letsgrowleaders.com/2023/11/27/failure-to-communicate/ )

As someone doing work, an added challenge for me is that there are the things I define as my “real” work… but inevitably, I leave too much off that list. Doing the analysis…real work. Having all the conversations to get the data, figure out what stakeholders really need, and how to present it in an effective way…and having a conversation with manager about how their new initiative will keep this analysis from happening when they want it…not “real” work. But the truth is, those activities are all part of the work getting done. I just don’t always include them in my planning.

The key for managers and teams alike is to have the conversations about what “the work” actually entails, discuss competing priorities, and allow ourselves to focus on what matters most. It’s not easy, in fact, it is definitely “work.” But the highest performing teams and most satisfied employees get good at it.

Finally, regarding AI – as I mention in the article, you’re right that machines continue to take over more and more of the work that can “just be done.” But there is still plenty that can’t. And there is the expanded work that learning to use AI well makes possible. Seth Godin has written about this quite a bit recently. Here’s a starting point: https://seths.blog/2024/12/thinking-about-jobs/

Thanks again for the conversation and addressing this important (and common) frustration!

So many of us literally just want to do our jobs. We are over forced employee engagement traps such as continuous improvement and forced socialization trainings such as branding your career. A huge percentage of us literally just want to work during our normal business hours opposed to working outside of our 40 hour schedule due to the latest corporate time consuming whim. We don’t want our roles to turn into to TedTalks. AI will replace most jobs regardless but until then, can we just work?

Thanks, Lesia! Happy Thanksgiving.

Hi Vernon,
Thanks for the question. You describe an important aspect of communicating key messages: helping each person know how THEY fit in. When I’m crafting key messages for a varied group like the FM professionals you describe, we’ll take time to work with people from those various roles to discuss what they need, the level of detail required, when they need it, and how they can take meaningful action. For some, a high level “WHY” with a short description of a change might be enough. For others, a more strategic analysis along with a framework might be what they need, followed by an invitation to figure out how they can act on it successfully.

Thank you