An Interview with an “expert” on the future of work (that would be me)

I was recently interviewed by Social-Hire as part of their Expert Interview program. It was a wide-ranging conversation about the changing nature of the workforce, the need for a radically new kind of organizational leadership, and how to attract and retain talent in this age of networked knowledge that we’ve created.

Here is a brief excerpt that reflects my perspective on why so many of us are frustrated and discouraged about our work experiences:

I have seen far too many instances of organizations mismanaging people, missing opportunities and losing talent because their leaders do not understand the misalignment between today’s work and workforce, on the one hand, and their leadership practices, on the other.

The nature of work itself has changed over the past several decades. Yet most organizations are still managing as if their employees just came from the farm to the city and need to be told what to do as they take their place on the assembly line. We’re using 19th-century industrial-age management practices in a 21st-century age of networked knowledge.

As a result, millions of people are unhappy at work, organizations are operating well below their potential, leaders are frustrated, and almost everyone feels stressed out. In spite of the moderate uptick in the economy, no one I know believes things are working they way they should be.

In one sense, the problem is simple: the world has changed in several fundamental ways, but the way most organizations operate has not. There is a terrible misalignment between the work and the workforce, on the one hand, and our leadership principles and practices, on the other.

Click here to read the complete interview and let me know what you think. I welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions. Isn’t this something we should be talking about more often – and doing something to fix?

Contact me for a free initial conversation about how confronting these workforce management issues can raise employee engagement, increase organizational performance, and change the work experience.