I was delighted to contribute recently to ‘The Sticky On The Inside’ podcast- What’s the difference in employee engagement and employee experience?’. We talked a lot about how the world of work has changed for the better.
To illustrate this, I shared a shocking story from my past. It involved the reaction my manager at the time had when I told him I was pregnant with my first son, Harry. His response? Do you know who the father is? Clearly, that wouldn’t happen today, at least I really hope not. I’m thankful that for the most part the workplace is very different today to when I started back in the 90s.
But it seems Boris and those he works with at number 10, didn’t get the memo. I’m not alone in being pretty shocked at the antics that have gone on. Sue Grey’s report reads like a ‘how not to engage your teams’. There’s so much content in there you could probably write a whole book on it! So I’ll just pick out a few key themes that jumped out at me.
Let’s start with integrity. Or should I say lack of integrity? We talk about integrity as matching our words and our actions. At the time, the government, and Boris in particular, were telling us how we must behave to stop the spread of COVID, protect the NHS and save lives. And they were very clear on how we needed to behave to do this. But their actions were million miles away from the guidance they were giving us. I’ve heard a few people comment that does it really matter, it was just a party? But it absolutely does, one hundred percent. Because when we lose integrity, we lose trust. Talking of trust. I always return to The Trust Equation – first published in the Trusted Advisor by David Maister et al. Boris and his team could benefit from taking a look at this. The model itself is pretty self-explanatory but you can learn more about it here 
If we evaluate the ‘party-gate’ behaviours it’s clear to see some red flags when it comes to both reliability as well as orientation. The behaviours tell us loud and clear that Boris and his colleagues actions were not to be trusted, and they most certainly cared more about having a good time than doing the right things and following their own advice and rules (and laws!!). Although I have to question how much of a good time was actually by had by those present, they didn’t exactly look like rocking parties, more like slightly awkward works drinks when you’d rather be at home with your family/ mates/ dog/ cat etc
If we want to change the world of work for the better, this is a powerful case study in what not to do. I really hope that ‘party-gate’ facilitates a more respectful and honest working environment at number 10 and facilitates some positive change across government.
As ever I would love to hear you views on this.
