Focus On Outcomes, Not Hours 

The tug-of-war between office work and remote work is pulling management and workers apart in far too many organizations. From high above in the C-suite, leaders are asking: Can we trust the people in our care when we can’t see them? Are workers more effective in a physical office environment? Can we control productivity by tracking the hours people work?

Let me be blunt: Yes, you can trust your people, even without a brick-and-mortar office environment or strict micromanaging. I had the pleasure of implementing and leading a self-directed company in the Netherlands from 2018 to 2023. This setup was wildly successful for the company and allowed our employees to shine. What was our secret?

Here are three observations:

1. Our employees had a crystal-clear mission, purpose and path forward.

A team that shares a vision for the future and feels aligned with their purpose will bring their personal contributions and A game through their own free will.

Most humans like their own ideas the most, so hold forums where your people can collaborate on the best way to achieve the company’s desired outcomes. Set the course, together, and be clear about what you expect from your team. When you do, they’ll innovate, produce, and provide top-notch service on their own.

2. Let the teamwork work.

When the plans feel right, and all teammates have accepted responsibility to deliver according to set plans and agreed-upon milestones, let them organize themselves around how they work best together.

You read that right: take a backseat and let your people figure it out.

Shape a cadence of communication to share progress, performance, and failures weekly, monthly, and quarterly for connection, course correction, and celebration. Loving leaders hold these spaces as supportive coaches, not as hungry commanders.

3. Focus on progress, not on the physical places where people work.

Rely on the milestones and leading indicators of progress, not the hours or places people perform their work.

In a startup or entrepreneurial environment, uncertainty and setbacks are fast and furious. When supported, though, people will learn fast and pivot or persevere as new information requires change. If trials are needed, people will go to the lab. If customer partners need to be enrolled in a change, sales teams and business developers will connect.

I’ve worked with individuals who get personal satisfaction and joy from working 60-plus hours a week at their own pace—and with others who focus and deliver the right things at the right time, working 24 to 32 hours a week.

Teams who show up with personal accountability do what they promise to do, and they deliver it consistently and more effectively than teams who sit in spaces for hours “shoulding” all over themselves.

The power of part-time schedules

I’ll plant one more seed about hours and outcomes: When times are tough, do not underestimate the benefit of activating part-time schedules to save money.

When we recognize the whole lives of the other adults we work with, we realize that 25 employees will have 25 different lives, households, and dreams. If business conditions signal a downturn—and words like “restructuring” or “layoff” start getting tossed around—consider asking the team what they would be willing to contribute to the greater good to protect everyone’s jobs.

Many people will opt in to a 0.8 or 0.6 schedule with reduced pay and embrace the extra time in their lives to focus on family, take a class, or enjoy more free time. For every five people who say yes to a flex schedule, one job is protected. And when business conditions improve, your trained, loyal, and happy team will be there to flex back up to full-time hours, which is much cheaper and less disruptive than firing and hiring through predictable business cycles.

I highly recommend protecting full benefits down to 0.6 schedules to enroll people in adopting short- and medium-term win-win outcomes.

If we want real performance—not just clocked-in hours—we need to build cultures rooted in clarity, accountability and trust. The best results don’t come from surveillance or spreadsheets tracking time; they come from empowered teams aligned on purpose and energized by freedom.

When leaders trust their people to deliver outcomes and support their whole lives, not just their job titles, engagement soars. In the end, leading this way, with love, isn’t soft. It’s a sharp strategy. And it works.