VisuaLeadership and the Future of Work
In an ever-changing world, if you’re standing still,
you’re falling behind.
One of the hottest business topics out there right now is “The Future of Work”: which is to say, how work is changing due to increasingly rapid technological flux, globalization, the gig economy, and other forces. And if you think about it, isn’t every business book ever written in some way about “the future of work”? They all follow a similar formula (this book included!): Stories and examples from the past, combined with pronouncements about the state of things today, followed by recommendations for how to survive and to succeed in the future.
The main difference between “the past and the present of work” and “the future of work” is that everything seems to be changing at a rate, and on a scale, never before seen. As we’ve evolved from an agricultural/agrarian economy to the industrial/machine age to the information age to the current digital age, it’s become more and more necessary to remain flexible, adaptable, and proactive. You can’t just choose to say, “I’m gonna sit this one out”…unless you want to quickly become a dinosaur. For, in this ever-changing world, if you’re standing still, you’re falling behind.
As they say, we’re living in an increasingly “VUCA” (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) world, where we are dealing with rapidly evolving external “PESTLE” (Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal, and Environmental) forces. It’s true that change has always been “the only constant,” but when living in a twenty-four-hour, always-on, social media-driven “global village” (as Marshall McLuhan described this interconnectivity in the 1960s), we need to continuously simplify things as much as possible. Visual thinking can help us wrap our heads around this ever-shifting reality, and it will help us succeed in a globalized workplace, as we need to be as clear as possible in our communications as we collaborate across time zones, generations, languages, and cultures.
In terms of technological advances, the train has left the station—at 250 miles per hour—and is only going to speed up. As offices are transformed by artificial intelligence (AI), algorithms, machine learning, data mining and refining, blockchain, automation, outsourcing, gigsourcing, and the like, we’re playing in an unfamiliar sandbox where most of us don’t speak the language…let alone understand the vocabulary. As such, being equipped, enabled, and empowered to leverage the power of visual thinking and visual communication just might prove to be a huge competitive advantage as you set out to navigate this brave new world.
When it comes to leadership, the old days of “command-and-control”-style managing, and of multilevel organizational hierarchies, are over. We all need to be leaders and team builders in order to get things done through and with other people. If you are a manager, your employees have to listen to you because they report to you, but you are only a “leader” if people choose to follow you. So why should people want to follow you? Leadership is not a title or a position. It is a way of being, thinking, and acting. And the door is open to anyone and everyone—at any level, or in any role—with the right mind-set, tool set, and skill set to step up to leadership.
Leaders of the future need to be able to think strategically, see the big picture, and be proactive in gaining the knowledge and skills necessary to create a collaborative climate. One way to do this is to flip that “VUCA” acronym on its head and foster an environment that is its opposite: what I call “CCSC,” which stands for: Calm, Certain, Simple, and Clear. We may find that each aspect’s opposite offers its antidote:
• In the face of Volatility, leaders need to create an environment of Calmness so that people feel a sense of urgency, rather than a state of panic. As the legendary basketball coach and leadership guru John Wooden put it, we need to “be quick, but don’t hurry”…for when you rush, you make mistakes.
• When things are Uncertain, it is the job of the leader to create some degree of Certainty. Uncertainty creates instability, and it is the job of the leader to make people feel that they are standing on a foundation of solid ground.
• In a Complex world, leaders need to Simplify that complexity so that people gain understanding. That does not mean “dumbing things down” or eliminating subtlety and nuance but finding a way to create understanding. As Einstein said, “Make things as simple as possible, but no simpler.”
• And, within the Ambiguity, leaders must help people gain a sense of Clarity…so that they can find their way forward. This is done by providing people with a “lens,” a perspective, and a vision through which they can see the world more clearly.
And, as you will hopefully see by now, one of the most powerful ways to do all of the above is by utilizing visual thinking and visual communication tools, tips, and techniques—including visual models, visual metaphors, and visual storytelling.
And lastly, we all need to prepare for jobs that don’t yet exist, while facing the unavoidable question that so many are asking: in a world in which job functions and entire industries are disappearing, literally, overnight, and one in which many live in fear that “the robots are taking over,” what do we humans need to do—or do differently, and better—going forward?
As we discussed in Chapter 10’s “Five Levels of Proactivity,” we need to be proactive and super-proactive rather than reactive. We need to be as agile, flexible, and innovative as possible; we need to continuously learn, unlearn, and relearn; and we need to open our eyes to envisioning the invisible…so that we will be prepared to do in the future what, today, may seem impossible.
In Review
The Big Lesson: The world—and the workplace—are changing faster than ever. So we need to be more agile, adaptable, flexible, and resilient than ever if we want to not just keep up with the curve but stay ahead of it.
The Big Question: When thinking about the future of work, what do you need to think about, and to do differently and better, in order to survive and to thrive?
Your Insight:
Your Action: