“When a man has put a limit on what he will do, he has put a limit on what he can do.” —Charles M. Schwab
There is something to be said about the personal effects of removing “limitations” on ourselves as people and as professionals. In order for us to truly thrive, we have to leverage rationale that doesn’t limit us in any way. We must be open to new ways of thinking that can change our lives for the better, and this often starts (or should start) with embracing change in all of its forms.
If there’s anything that the business arena learned in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that change is not always a choice. Seemingly overnight, life was halted in ways we could have never imagined. Entire sports seasons were delayed and postponed, businesses were shuttered, and concepts like “lockdowns” and “social distancing” became part of everyday vernacular (as did facial coverings in any type of public setting).
As humans, we adapted, we changed, and we persevered. Although times were frightening and the ambiguity of those days are memories we will unfortunately never forget, many of us saw our fundamental beliefs change in such a way that allowed us to foster better connections with ourselves and each other.
As people, we became more in tune with our emotions, routines, and purpose. As professionals, we now continue to become more aware of our emotions, routines, and…purpose. Sense a pattern? “Purpose” was a fundamental reason why the so-called “Great Resignation” persisted for such a long time. If “work” was such a critical piece of our foundation, then the reevaluation of its place in our lives was amped more than ever so before. Unhappiness, a lack of flexibility, and a lack of true purpose were all limitations that needed to be broken through.
We changed as humans, and thus, we changed as professionals. Through either choice or evolution, we removed limitations on ourselves to optimize our personas.
Enterprises must follow the same approach if they want to thrive in this dynamic new business arena. Archaic thinking threatens the very success of the average organization, be it through a lack of flexibility, failure to adopt new work models, and a general ignorance of innovative technology. Some business leaders are rooted in pre-pandemic thinking, with a belief that now that the emergency phase of the crisis is over, it is time to return to the ways of 2019.
As the Future of Work Exchange once stated months ago: we’re not going back. Not now, not ever.
To think that there is some semblance of years past in 2023 in beyond is, frankly, disengenuous. It speaks to a possible fear of the future, that progression somehow means that business will enter an era of chaos. In some ways, thinking archaically is akin to a level of comfort, a warm and fuzzy feeling that’s synonymous with “easier” times that weren’t founded on uncertainty and change. If we think like it’s 2019, does that mean that the world around us will look, feel, and act like 2019?
Well, no, of course not. 2019 thinking is old thinking, and old thinking is a limitation. And, limitations are essentially barriers to innovation. The workforce is changing. The workplace continues to change. Workers themselves continue to change. Technology is evolving, as is its role and impact on every feature of the modern organization. All of this means that leadership needs to change, as well. We must embrace the transformation around us, be it open talent, blockchain, digital staffing, flexible and empathy-led leadership styles, etc.
There is so much that can be done in today’s dynamic world of work, whether it’s applying artificial intelligence to both tactical and strategic attributes (i.e., scenario-building, predictive analytics, etc.), developing new and exciting work models that promote real workplace flexibility (such as remote work, hybrid workplaces, or even introducing the metaverse to business operations), or revamping the ways the greater business engages and acquires talent (i.e., direct sourcing, omni-channel talent acquisition, etc.). The Future of Work Exchange has often stated that “the transformation of business thinking” is a fundamental component of the Future of Work movement; in essence, the pandemic challenged the ways businesses ran and forced them to reimagine nearly every facet of how they operated.
Although the pandemic was a humanitarian crisis that caused untold loss and disruption, it resulted in an opportunity for businesses to “reset” and rethink the ways they operate and address how work is done. Many attributes of the progressive enterprise were accelerated, enabling a chance to experiment with technology and innovative strategies, as well as push the boundaries of what was possible in regards to the flexible (and agile) workplace and workforce. Many business leaders claimed this opportunity to reimagine what was possible in a corporate setting, but many did not…an all-too-common result of the weight of limitations on leadership’s thinking.
The Future of Work is a movement that is founded on flexibility, innovation, and business transformation. It thrives on new ideas and fresh concepts. Right now is an opportunity for business leaders to remove limitations from their thinking and develop the next-generation workplace (and, of course, workforce) that can take the enterprise into a new dimension.
