The new ecology of work
I’ve been thinking about the new ecology of work. Some people say it has all changed and it will never go back, but I don’t know if that’s so. As always, some things will change and others will quickly revert as we adjust, because these things are never linear or absolute.
What we will hopefully learn is that we have credible choices about how we work. Making those choices revolves around the overarching principle of contribution – what do we give, what do we get? How can we make a bigger and better contribution ourselves, and as managers how can we enable others to contribute at a higher level?
Here’s what’s emerging:
Some jobs and people may require both collaboration and productivity to get the best contribution. Then it’s about structuring time in the office to participate in physical collaboration and time at home to work on production/delivery. For managers this means empowering people to do this in a way that best meets their needs as well as the team and organisation’s needs
Some people need the energy of other people, especially when they’re more extraverted and their main contribution is to collaboration; digital tools are ok, but they’re still a two dimensional substitute for what is best achieved through a three dimensional experience
Others need what The Jam called “the tranquility of solitude”. They may be more introverted, but their work may also involve more productivity – their contribution lies in getting stuff done
Whichever way you go, you need a primary workspace. Thankfully we’re long past the days of emailing ourselves versions of documents or even making sure we closed it so it synched with dropbox. However, like guitarists have their pedal setups, we have our work setups which enable us to make our best contribution. Even though you may be able to work from anywhere, intentionally set up a place where you can be most productive or collaborative (depending on your job and your preferences)
Teams have to be intentionally managed if there is a mix of work from home and onsite. The rapid adoption of Zoom and Microsoft Teams has made meetings more efficient – less time spent looking for rooms, trying to connect distant team members, sorting out the technology. But teams managed themselves organically to some degree through being co-located. Now we need to be deliberate about daily catchups, project teams and ways of working together
We need a contribution to ourselves from our organization as well – we have social and emotional needs that are met through work. Organizations that send their people to work from home without regard to that need to connect will soon see productivity fall, and cohesion will start to fray. More of our Breakthrough team are working more from home, but we have 2 days a week nominated for all of us to be in the office, and part of that is given to lunch together. They’re also the days we will do our collaborations, leaving 1:1 discussions to Zoom and phone
Leaders have to decide where their greatest contribution lies – is it in producing outputs or providing the point of cohesion? Management and leadership is about being as much as doing, and the symbolism of physical presence is really important during this period of adjustment, a still point in a changing world
Beyond that, we have to rethink our contribution to the world outside our door. What contribution are we making to our customers as they go through their version of a different normal? What contribution are we making to our society? It has been observed that the people deemed essential workers were not the millionaires and celebrities. We owe a bigger debt to the low paid people who worked in health, food, distribution, utilities. How does that change who we value and how?
And I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a shift towards making a more explicit and positive contribution to the planet. It would be a hard soul who does not look at this existential threat to the physical and now social health of our species and re-assess what’s important.