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10 elements of The Future Of Work December 2015 Bloch&Østergaard Because going to work should be nice, great, and awesome
10 elements of The Future Of Work
December 2015
Bloch&Østergaard
Because going to work should be nice, great, and awesome
Organizations are changing
Now, as the digital disruption is approaching the plateau of productivity, the next disruption is emerging, namely how we organize us.
Focus is going to be on organizing, not organizations
Purpose and meaningfulness
Relationsbeat skills
Largerdepartments
Smallerdelivery teams
Everyone is a leader
Followership supports
leadership
Step down from the
Ivory Tower
Listen, then decide
Intensesprints
Not more,but better
1: Purpose and meaningfulness
It has to make sense
Going to work must be meaningful to you, to the team, and to the receiver of the product/service
When the management team says "jump", you don't ask "how high?", but "why”, and “who will it benefit?"
2: Relations beat skillsIn the old world we focused on skills and cost
Now we focus on relations and effect
It's thoroughly documented (e.g. by MIT), that teams that are established based on their internal relations perform better than
teams that are established based on skills
Social selling and social business is also build on relations
3: Larger departmentsThe traditional department units will grow
The professional responsibility slides to the specialists, the deliveries are anchored in dedicated teams, and micromanagement disappears
The role of the manager is changing to that of a true HR manager and coach
The strict hierarchal structure will disappear, silos will be torn down and a more flexible way of working will be prominent
4: Smaller delivery teamsTeam size is going down
We'll see more and more teams with 5 or fewer members. This brings agility, less time spent on misunderstandings, and more
personal closeness and intimacy
Relations are important!
5: Everyone is a leaderThe leader is a role that shifts from time to time.
In the future, everyone can be a leader
Depending on the task at hand and on the members of the team,the leader should be the one who has the intention,
drive, willingness, motivation, and skills to do so
Based on the actual task, action, the specific team, and the impact of the delivery, the roles will shift to fit the situation.
6: Follower-ship beats leadership
It's important that you know when to be a follower. Acknowledge that someone else than you is the leader, and that it's not you all the time. Follow the one that
commits to being the leader - and then show your support and acknowledgement. You might learn something
Also, learn how to make people follow you, not just be a beacon and an inspiration. You must know how to motivate people, also the millennials.
Relations beat skills
7: Step down from the Ivory Tower
Going forward you don't get respect from sitting in a Ivory Tower, thinking big thoughts and making five-year plans
Step down. Write some code. Open PowerPoint or Photoshop. Take part in the actual work in the team.
Contribute.
8: Listen, then decideEveryone can make decisions
Since everyone knows WHY we do what we do, everyone is equipped to make decisions. This is a natural consequence of the
drive to push the mandate down in the organization.
Therefore you should seek advisory and counselling in the organization, before making the decision. The larger impact of the
decision, the more advisory you should seek
9: Intense sprints
Agile and SCRUM is winning ground
We'll see even more of that, even where the sprint length is as short as days or hours. There is a reason for
the power of the Pomodoro Technique and the efficiency of the modern workshop techniques
It works, it's fun, and highly productive
10: Not more, but better
In a fully globalized world, size doesn't matter. Effect does.The industrialized world have all it needs
Don't make more things; make better things
Bloch&Østergaard
Because going to work should be nice, great, and awesome
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Erik Korsvik Østergaard, Partner, Bloch&Østergaard
@ErikQstergaard
Line Bloch, Partner, Bloch&Østergaard
@LineBloch
