Re-framing the future.
How we think about what lies ahead is the most important aspect of leadership today. The magnitude of uncertainty and complexity faced on a daily basis is mind boggling. Yet, for the most part, we tend to approach the challenge of managing the modern organization just like we did fifty years ago. Root around the bowels of even the most successful corporation or non-profit and you’re likely to stumble upon the long shadow of scientific management, where work is sub-divided into super-specialized tasks. While this Industrial Age framework seems to be more efficient; paradoxically, it is often the most costly approach in the long run.
Assembly lines tend to clog up and distort the flow of information — both within and outside the organization — in our knowledge-driven economy. When key stakeholders come knocking on the door, they are seeking an integrated view of their patient record, investment profile, profit-loss statement or product pipeline. Comprehending and communicating the “big picture” is made that much harder when our systems, structures, cultures and processes are fragmented.
For the leader-of-tomorrow, the question then becomes, “how do we design an organization that can keep pace with the rapid advance of social technologies and customer expectations?” Both are on a meteoric rise. The first step is to simply create the mental, logistical and emotional space to see and think in new ways. For high-octane leaders with more meetings than moments in the day, this is the steepest ascent they will encounter.
glh
