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The future of work
D. Shivakumar
The future leader will have to tread through many challenges
make diversity work, look atteams not individuals and being
transparent. But, also, she/he will have to be a democratic and
warm boss
For the past 50 years, organisations have essentially been
variations of a hierarchical model. Thiswill change fundamentally
this decade.
The future organisation will be all about people, in the context
of factors like globalisation, the
economy, technology and a growing individualistic society.
Four factors will impact future organisations. They are
globalisation, the economy, technology
and growing individualism.
Globalisation and economy
Globalisation is about the lowest cost structure, the cheapest
money, the best talent and the best
returns. Talent is getting scarce and going global at the same
time.
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Globalisation is also about the spread of consumer trends from
one block to another. It is also the
death of unions, since firms have the opportunity to source from
countries that have favourable
business terms and conditions, and to close operations that are
not productive.
The second impact factor is the economy. Every country wants to
create more jobs and, in some
measure, this will lead to protectionism and also development of
local based industry. A countrywill want the firm to be a good
citizen and contribute significantly to the challenges and issues
itfaces. This will be led by company laws and also the growth of
non-Governmental organisations
(NGOs). Every firm must do more than law mandates in order to
show its commitment to the
country.
The Indian economy has moved from being a penetration economy to
a consumption economy
sometime in the last ten years. We will see consumption coupled
with an experience economy
this decade. The big impact for organisations will be the soft
skills of internal and outsourced
employees in providing great experience.
The tech impact
Technology is the next impact factor. This year, 2013, will be
special for two reasons. It is the
year when we will see nearly a billion smartphones sold. And, it
will also be the year when
mobile Internet will overtake fixed line Internet. Both will
have a significant impact on people,
and also the way work will be done in organisations.
The Internet is about public-ness. Technology allows people
flexibility in managing work and
life. With technology, there is no dividing line between work
time and personal time.
Technology will aid, yet challenge the way meetings are
conducted.
Technology breaks hierarchy and promotes openness by getting
every employees view on theinternal blogs, about strategy, about
results, about culture. Management style and corporate
culture will have to keep pace with technology advances this
decade.
One group we will see a lot at the workplace is the millennials,
people born between 1977 and
1997. I fondly call them The Concorde generation. The ad from
British Airways for theConcorde said, Arrive before you leave,
since that was possible with the Concorde between
London and New York.
The Concorde generation is excellent with technology, so, they
are adept at multitasking. TheConcorde generation is also
idealistic. They seek harmony in values and whats right and
wrong.
When leaders disappoint them, they are disillusioned. They are
loyal to their careers and notinstitutions. Their learning style is
by doing by trial and error. It is a privileged generation,since
their parents have provided for the basic needs. Previous
generations worked in companies
for security and institution building. The Concorde generation
change jobs to keep life
interesting. And they thrive on praise and are sensitive to
criticism. For this generation work is a
verb, not a noun.
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Every organisation says it is open and transparent. We will need
to set a new benchmark in
openness in this decade. I call this truth telling as opposed to
whistle blowing. Truth telling willensure that you will have more
control and be more compliant. How do leaders encourage truth
telling at all times?
The task for leaders is challenging.
The future leader will be one who is disciplined, humble and
rich in social skills. Such a leader
will move from the current three Es Efficiency, Effectiveness
and Exits to a moredemocratic, harmonised workplace where the value
will be unlocked through highly engaged
colleagues who are more productive than competition. The future
of leadership is in rich social
skills, in being who you are the warm leader.
(The writer is President, AIMA, and Sr. Vice President, Nokia
for India, Middle East and Africa.
This article has been adapted from a speech delivered at the
NHRD CEO Conclave).
The future leader will have to move from the three Es
Efficiency, Effectiveness and Exits
to a more democratic, harmonised workplace
