At AWP, we have focused our efforts on strategies that advance women professionals, increase equal representation and address work-life issues in the communal environment. Before you choose your target for change, think about your organization and consider the following questions: • Where are you in the organization? What resources do you have available? What are your constraints? How does this assessment affect your choice of strategy? • What is your time horizon for this initiative? • What will success look like, early on and in the long term? • How public do you want to be? Should this change effort be visible - both within and outside the organization - or should you work "under the radar"? As you consider various options, we have found that choosing more than one project is a good idea. It is impossible to predict in advance which change effort will take root or which will have the most impact. Finally, take an experimental approach. Remaining open and flexible enables you to assess progress honestly, make mid-course corrections and treat your experience as a learning opportunity, whether it looks like a success or setback. |
  Question: I have an employee whom I value very much. She’s moved to the suburbs and will have a two-hour commute each way. She wants to work from home two days a week. How will I measure how effective she is, when she’s not in the office every day? Answer: Measuring how effective your employees are does not depend on how many days they spend in full view. We live with the illusion that seeing our employees in the office means that we are in control of their productivity. In fact, even if someone is working in your office, how do you know what they are doing? The measure is in their accomplishments. This is a good time to make sure that you both have a shared understanding of her goals, tasks, and priorities. Ideally, changing her schedule gives you both the incentive to focus more closely on her work plan and to think about how it intersects with the work of her colleagues  
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