“No Silver Bullet for Modern Times… Innovation and the Fundamentals Matter”

Demographic Shifts, Technology Disruptions, the Empowered Customer, and Employee: Imperatives for a New Leadership Model

Cornell Club, NYC on Friday, November 17, 2017

 

We are in the midst of a perfect storm. Demographic changes are shifting market boundaries; new technologies are creating new products and services at an incredibly fast pace and at the same time, disrupting entire industries; Millennials and Gen Z’s are bringing fresh new ideas and ways of working; consumers and citizens are pervasively connected and the voice of an individual has the reach to sway an entire nation. These are complex times and we often struggle to comprehend the implications of these big shifts on our jobs, our capabilities, our families, our organizations and our society. As we work with multigenerational and diverse workforces, we struggle to maintain trust and engage our workforce and society at large. Ever the optimists, we continue to search for a silver bullet.

However, at Talentnomics we believe that there is no silver bullet for modern times… the fundamentals do matter. In this new world, we need a different leadership model to thrive. One that refocuses on a different set of fundamentals. Leadership that embraces disruption in a positive way. Where values, inclusion, collaboration, creativity and innovation (VICCI) become five fundamental modes of operation. To make this new leadership model a reality, it is imperative to grapple with complex questions and explore a variety of potential solutions to make VICCI actionable.

1. Put Our Values to Work. Employees want leaders to be authentic, they want to feel connected to something bigger than themselves, and want to have an impact in making the world a better place for all. How do we communicate big picture ideas, purpose and meaning to our employees — goals that go beyond the organization’s financial success and focus on short term business results? What can we do to link the values and motivations of our employees with the organization’s raison d’etre? How do we build and maintain a culture that is authentic and aligned to our espoused values? How do we model, encourage and reward courage in challenging power and status quo?
2. Embrace Positive Disruptions, Collaboration Creativity and Innovation. New technologies (e.g. AI, IoT, New Platforms, Fintech, Big Data, Social Media) are transforming jobs and operating models in key industries. To thrive, leaders need to understand and embrace the positive aspects of these disruptive technologies. This requires recognizing and nurturing creativity to harness the multitude of possibilities that these new technologies provide. Further, leaders also need to develop collaborative and diverse ecosystems that enable them to create new opportunities from complexity. How do we unleash creativity in conventional hierarchical organizations? How do we facilitate and enable collaboration for innovation? How to we value diverse perspectives and approaches? How best can we share ideas and intellectual capital across boundaries? How do we translate ideas into innovative models, products, and services? How is success defined? Who shares in the eventual success? How do we share and reward success? How do we encourage sharing and learning from mistakes and failures?
3. Change Mindsets and Create Truly Inclusive Workplaces. Leaders need to cultivate spaces where all forms of diversity are truly valued and each person can realize their full potential and aspirations. How do we break free of our socialized gendered roles and norms that have been formed from childhood? How do we recognize that we all develop and demonstrate unconscious as well as explicit assumptions and biases in all stages of our life? A multi-generational panel that includes parents, sons and daughters, will explore how families can help change gendered expectations and mindsets, alleviate biases and accelerate positive change and inclusion at home and in the workplace.
4. Engage Millennials, Gen Zs and Boomers. Our world today requires us to explore, probe, and create opportunities to utilize the (new) ways of thinking of the Millennials and Gen Z’s. How do we encourage and enable these Digital Natives to use their strengths in innovating and risk taking? How do we value and engage the others (e.g. baby boomers) in the workforce? What are their motivations and unique strengths that we can leverage? How can we grow talent for the future? How can we create a supportive culture of mentoring and reverse mentoring? How can we help each person be the BEST version of herself/himself? A multi-generational panel will discuss these issues and suggest actions.

The New York Crucible will be an engaging and trans-formative experience. It will deepen our awareness and understanding of key trends, innovations, diverse perspectives and motivations that are impacting our world and work. Through open conversations, we will discover actionable insights for increasing trust, engagement, inclusion, collaboration, creativity and innovation in our organizations and communities. It will elevate our game as leaders. Most importantly, we will meet and connect with amazing people to grow and diversify our supportive ecosystem.