What do you need to do your best work?

Back in the 1990s when I was working at a radio production company, my colleague David - who’s a good friend all these years later - was tasked by his boss to come up with programme ideas. David knew where he’d have his best ideas, so he asked his boss if he could go and sit by a lake for a day. His boss told him to do it in the office like everybody else!

Perhaps David was ahead of his time. Today I hope most leaders would recognise the need for their team to get away from strict, desk-based working and tune into the creative fuel they need.

We hear a lot about company culture. But what about individual culture? Do we pay enough attention to how the individual works best?

I’ve talked about this a lot over the years because it’s a principle I strongly believe in. It lies at the heart of my own working life. When I approach a task or element of a project I ask myself at each stage, ‘what do I need to do my best work?’

Depending on what’s required, I might head up to the coffee shop at the top of the road (to play around with ideas), or wander around London, popping into an exhibition (inspiration) or sitting at my desk for a couple of hours, notifications turned off (head down work). There will be times when, like David, I might seek out some nature and water. I don’t have a lake, but I do have the seascape and landscape of the Thames estuary at the bottom of my road. Tools matter too and I love a large yellow legal pad for scribbling ideas on.

When I’ve asked people on my workshops over the years - what do you need? - I’ve got so many different answers. An open plan office. Solitude with headphones. A comfy chair. A standing desk. Silence. Loud Techno music. A pen and paper. Doing everything on screen. Working from home. A walk in the park.


The point is, we’re all different. The trick is paying attention to what we need and making sure our employer is flexible to our needs.

Stop to think (instead of defaulting to sitting at your desk and opening up your laptop) and ask yourself: what do I need (what collaborators, tools, ingredients, environment?) to do my best work and what actions can I take to make it happen?