If you follow my blog regularly, you probably know that I also blog with my colleague, Joe Gerstandt, over at the Talent Anarchy blog. Lately, we’ve been discussing work and why, in our opinions, it doesn’t seem to be working.
A few weeks ago, Joe asked the question “Do we need a new eithic of work?” This was a great question that got me to thinking, how do we make work better? For me, the heavy burden at the moment lies with the individual employee. The reason work sucks for so many people today is because we’ve allowed it to happen. The reality of the marketplace is that talent is still king and great talent is in high demand, but we’ve been content to accept whatever conditions our employers dish out to us. To take back control of this relationship requires some different action.
So, my response to Joe was that we, as the ‘workers’ need to take it upon ourselves to seize control of our work experience and to create the leverage we need to drive change, not just for ourselves, but in the system. Business is adaptive and it will change to meet our needs only once we draw a line in the sand and declare that we’ve had enough.
To accomplish this, I wrote a series of posts that lay out how I believe that we can take back control of our work experience. Here are the links to those posts if you are interested.
- We need to take back control of work.
- Self-awareness
- Personal accountability
- Exceptional skill and abilities
- Network
- Fierce authenticity
- Commitment
If you take the time to review these posts, I’d love your thoughts and feedback. Do you agree with this list? What did I miss? Do you have examples to share of how this approach has worked for you or someone you know?
Work can make work better. I’m certain of it. But, it’s not going to happen until we decide to make it so.
The Management Innovation Exchange do an awful lot of work in this area as well. As you say, there is so much that can be done better in the workplace. Hopefully the next decade will see much of it happen.
Adi, Thanks for the comment. I agree that there's a lot of work being done and Management Innovation Exchange is doing some great stuff. My concern is that all of the focus seems to be on the organization. My experience tells me that the organization isn't going to change until the people demand it. I'd like to see more work pointed at helping employees gain the perspective and tools they need to start that transition. My posts were just a small pebble in the ocean in that regard.
I, too, share your hope for change in the next decade, but I'm skeptical that real change will come until it's forced.
Jason, great post. Taking personal responsibility and accountability at work seems more important than ever today so one is part of the solution instead of part of the problem. Want to improve the workplace? You have to be willing to be part of the changes you want to see — speak up, get involved, ask questions. There's so much one can do.