LEADERSHIP STRATEGY: THREE CHALLENGES IN THE ‘E-MERGING WORKPLACE
ancient wisdom for an E-merging workplace
Your grandparents did not work for organizations like the one you work in. Your world would be unrecognizable to them. Today, people are experiencing what could justifyably be called an ‘E-merging workplace’.
by LSI contributor Dr. John Scherer
The E-merging world at work is characterized by:
Connectivity:
The Internet gives anyone, anywhere, instantaneous information about anything. Maintaining a specific innovation as a competitive advantage is impossible for any length of time. Competitors are always ‘breathing down your neck’, copying what works as fast as they can.
Volatility:
Everyone and everything is moving all the time. As companies jockey for position, mergers and acquisitions become the fastest way to secure temporary security and grow market share. ‘Job security’ has come to mean moving rapidly from one company to another. My oldest son, who plays lead guitar in his rock band, told me, ‘Dad, no one has a career anymore. Working life is becoming more like a series of gigs.’
Anxiety:
The pace of change continues to pick up speed—who would have ever thought that was possible? We are perpetually in what my friend and consulting colleague, Peter Vail, calls “permanent white water.” Stress and anxiety are common companions. There is never time to rest on your paddles, because there’s always another set of rapids coming at you.
Three challenges in the E-mergingworkplace workplace
1. Motivation
People must take responsibility for their own careers. Honest companies no longer promise lifetime employment. The challenge: How do you keep the workforce motivated and caring about their company when they know their future will not include twenty five years of employment, a big pension, and a gold watch?
2. Productivity
Employees are often forced to self-manage, so how do you get them to work with colleagues and become a high-performance team, capable of competing in our e-merging world?
3. Balance
How are we to do all this while keeping ourselves well in body, mind, and spirit? How can we remain competitive yet healthy?
The New Leadership and Management Paradigm:
After thousands of years of what is now seen as an out-of-date organization structure, a new way of operating is emerging.
The old paradigm:
The job of leaders and managers is to ensure a smooth operation where people do what they are told and exceptions are forced into line or they are let go.
The new paradigm:
Leaders and managers – all employees for that matter, top to bottom – need to see, think, and manage their own work like performance-oriented change artists.
The implications of this shift are staggering:
The only companies that will survive to thrive will be staffed by people who are willing and capable of taking matters into their own hands, making decisions that will improve service to demanding customers and profits to demanding shareholders. The traditional top-down, command-and-control management approach is winding down. Even in repetitive operations, people who are not thinking and operating like performance-oriented change artists will be left behind by organizations and people who innovate as a matter of course. A new way of BEING at work is needed.
Self-Mastery: the key to survival and prosperityin the E-MERGING workplace
You will no longer be told what to do by your manager. You’ll have to start managing yourself. Around 600 BC, Lao Tsu, the Chinese sage, said :
“Those who know understand much about many things may be wise, but those who understand themselves are wiser. Those who are master over many may be powerful, but those who are mastering themselves are more powerful still.”
This post sponsered by The Baton Management System