Reimagining office administration in post-Covid world

Administrative regimes of the present and the future must move beyond obsolete ideas of hierarchical power-plays. Sensible leadership engenders a collaborative and flexible work domain, which is indeed the need of the hour. To make this shift is thus, an ethical and professional imperative for administrators

"The sublimity of administration consists in knowing the proper degree of power that should be exerted on different occasions"

- Montesquieu

A new era is beckoning with the world moving away from co-Covid realities. The lessons we have learnt in these times have been tremendous and have transformed all aspects of collective existence. The same holds true for the domain of work which has sustained itself through unprecedented collaborations and adaptations, bending old and upheld rules of administration. If the pandemic taught us one thing, it was that we can collectively overcome the roughest of disasters while pursuing flexibility and empathy. Administration had to be open to new techniques of work, flexible work hours, new ways to measure productivity and above all, pursue an empathetic approach to keep employees on board during distress. Administrating, thus, merits rethinking of its own, deriving from our adaptations during the viral spread.

The word administration comes from the Latin administrare, meaning to help, assist and manage. It is perhaps here that we can begin to unpack a new idea of collaborative leadership and management. Instead of imagining it as a hierarchical arrangement of supervision, we can rethink it as a network where people help each other accomplish professional goals. Experts agree that empathetic management is the way to go in the present epoch. Frederik Anseel, professor of management at UNSW Business School, remarks for a noted publication that management theories are a product of their times – and that the current era is turbulent.

"At the moment there's a lot of uncertainty," he says. "People are being told they need to reinvent their workplace and update their skills all the time. That requires a more nurturing leadership, which pays attention to how people feel and how to bring their best self to work – a different approach to, say, authoritarian and directive attitudes."

To add to this, Hubert Joly, former CEO of Best Buy and professor at Harvard Business school, tells Harvard Business Review that the companies that will succeed in the future, amid this uncertainty, will be those that lead with purpose and put their people first. The key, according to Joly, is for leaders to pursue a noble purpose, put people at the center of the business, create an environment where every employee can blossom, and treat profit as an outcome, not the goal.

Translating these observations into action and thinking of the realities of remote working, the first leadership decision shall suitably involve a departure from micromanaging and a move towards flexibility. Over-instruction and micromanagement can kill the spirits of any remote team where people work best autonomously. Administration in the case of remote work has to be based on trust and accountability instead of consolidating hierarchies. For example, in an empathetic environment, goals can be set for employees while giving them the freedom to go about it whichever way they would like. Instead of quizzing them over what software they use and the pace at which they operate, a boss can be flexible as long as the broad goals are met during the stipulated time. This enables focussing on results and fetching worthy outcomes in place of conflict over processes.

The other administrative front which needs attention is a reiteration of purpose. In times like ours where the world is increasingly unstable, it is possible to lose sight of the fulfilment and the mission that work is about. An able administrator's task, then, is to keep employees in the loop and to remind them of the difference their work makes to the organization and the world. Manoeuvres like these bolster employee motivation and position them on the track to professional excellence and satisfaction.

Lastly, technology will have a tremendous role to play in all administrative regimes of the future. Drawing from today's times, it offers possibilities for communication on a scale unwitnessed before. Through simplification of procedures, establishment of transparency and unhindered transmissions, administrators can be empowered to manage everything, ranging from recruitment to gauging productivity seamlessly. Increased communication is a lease of life for democratization of the workplace and potential innovation.

Administrative regimes of the present and the future must move beyond obsolete ideas of hierarchical power-plays. Sensible leadership engenders a collaborative and flexible work domain, which is indeed the need of the hour. To make this shift is thus, an ethical and professional imperative for administrators.

(The author is Chief Impact Officer at Recykal Foundation)