workplace environment

Man or Machine: Who Will Win in the Workplace of the Future?

July 11, 2018 By Patti Cotton Leave a Comment

What’s smarter than a human being?

A group of human beings.

Putting our heads together to come up with brilliant ideas and implementation has been recognized for centuries as “brain-trusting,” and is well-known for the rich perspectives, problem-solving, and creativity it can generate.

But now that machines loom larger and smarter, will this mean that we lose brain trust to brawn?

The experts project a loss of 800 million jobs by 2030 to machines.

How will you remain viable and vibrant in the new age of artificial intelligence (AI)?

AI is currently viewed as both an exciting development and a terrible threat. The advances we are able to make today and tomorrow are critical to meet an ever-growing complex world. Yet, we also realize that what has previously been accomplished by humans can now be taken over, at least in part, by machines.

What does that mean for meaningful work for us and for those generations that succeed us?

Will we lose our workplace to the machine?

No.

In fact, work may become more meaningful than ever before – if you and your organization are prepared to meet it.

It is important to understand that we continue to design machines that can take over automated tasks and mundane, repetitive work. We are seeing this in the operation and support of factories and production lines, customer call operations, document classification, and other areas.

With this development, machines will indeed replace a large part of the workforce that has previously performed these tasks.

In addition, machines are now capable of performing other more complex activities such as those requiring the processing of data streams, real-time knowledge, etc. Again, machines will dominate in this particular arena.

Then what is left for us?

How can AI actually benefit and bring more meaningful work opportunities to the human part of the future workforce?

Here are three ways:

1. Opportunities for vertical development.

Instead of emphasizing hard skills and competencies, focus will be on vertical development: developing the ability to perform more complex and adaptive thinking and to “see” with a greater lens and make sense of a world growing in complexity.

Our charge will be oversight and management of machines, rather than performing the tasks.

Abilities required of us at greater levels will be adaptability, network thinking, judgment, and creativity. Acquiring these skills means more career opportunities and greater flexibility in work choices open to us.

The good news is that each of us has been given the seeds to develop vertically – and there are proven ways to develop it systematically.

2. Opportunities to support the need for belonging and growth.

Human beings seek to belong, and they seek growth.

The workplace plays a critical role in helping people to do this. Those organizations embodying a culture of collaboration and offering individual and group growth opportunities will support these needs.

Further, this will benefit the company by lowering employee turnover, and heightening engagement, satisfaction, and productivity. Machines cannot create and support this culture – it is the people alone who are empowered to do this.

What does your company need in order to support this need for belonging and growth?

3. Opportunities to tap into collective intelligence (CI) to become the organization of the future.

CI is shared or group intelligence that emerges from the collaboration and collective efforts of many. And it is key to moving an organization into the future.

Gone is the hierarchical business model of one “general” at the top, several “sergeants” at the next levels, and many “foot soldiers” carrying out the tasks.

Instead, teams are leading teams, from top to bottom – to sideways. As leaders now demand greater leadership at every level, their workforces demand to have more voice and participation in leading the company forward.

We recognize the power of this collective, and welcome the rich brain trust it provides.

As we incorporate greater vertical development, a sense of belonging, and collective intelligence, this means we will have the ability to operate at a higher level of intelligence and meaning than we have ever experienced. And that is pretty exciting!

So where do we go from here? What’s your burning question or concern about man and machine in the workplace?

HOW MUCH

DO OTHERS REALLY TRUST YOU?

Learn the two vital parts to trust and how they can help you become a more highly effective leader.

GET THE INFOGRAPHIC

Patti Cotton

Patti Cotton reenergizes talented leaders and their teams to achieve fulfillment and extraordinary results. For more information on how Patti Cotton can help you and your organization, click here.

How Much Do Others Really Trust You?

March 6, 2018 By Patti Cotton Leave a Comment

How much do others really trust you?

Most people see themselves as rather trustworthy. The problem is that your perception may not be the same as the picture others have of you.

How can you tell if you need to boost your trust factor with others?

Beth was one who excelled in competence – but something in her character kept others from feeling confident in her leadership. They just didn’t trust her.

Sure, she was capable and committed to the company. Her results were hard to beat. But when she was put in charge of a team, her CEO received significant backlash.

“I’m not saying she isn’t a great executive,” said one team member. “But she’s hard to read and she often switches gears in the middle of a project. It’s like fielding flies. How can we work with her if she doesn’t share what she’s thinking? I’m not sure I can trust her.”

What part of trust was lacking in Beth? Transparency – a vital piece to sound leadership character. Where she excelled in performance and results, she lacked the ability to share readily with others. This absence of communication led others to believe that she did not value their participation. In fact, this stemmed from Beth’s fear of being doubted in her decision-making. But that’s another article. The end result for our purposes here was that because Beth did not communicate, people did not trust her. They saw her as competent, but untrustworthy all the same.

Another executive, Jack, connected well with and respected others in all he undertook. It was clear that he held positive intent with all endeavors. This is all part of leadership character.

But Jack’s ability to hold himself and others accountable – a part of leadership competence – was woefully inadequate. As a result, Jack’s performance and that of his team was hit and miss. Because he found it difficult to stick with a plan and hold others to it, he missed several good opportunities for promotion.

You’ll see in the list below that there are indeed two vital parts to trust:

Affective trust – the emotional part of trust. How well are you able to create mutually-based concern for and with others? How well do you create bonds with others that feel solid and authentic? We call things relating to this part of creating trust your leadership character.
Cognitive trust – the rational part of trust that causes others to feel you are reliable, dependable, competent. We call things relating to this part of creating trust your leadership competence.

As you review this list, what do you celebrate about your own leadership? Where are your growing edges?

And would others say the same?

HOW MUCH

DO OTHERS REALLY TRUST YOU?

Learn the two vital parts to trust and how they can help you become a more highly effective leader.

GET THE INFOGRAPHIC

Patti Cotton

Patti Cotton reenergizes talented leaders and their teams to achieve fulfillment and extraordinary results. For more information on how Patti Cotton can help you and your organization, click here.

How to Fall in Love with Conflict

January 31, 2018 By Patti Cotton Leave a Comment

Most executives tell me they hate conflict and run quickly from it. And if they can’t escape it, they report handling it poorly. After all, who likes tension?

I’d like to offer an alternate paradigm – how would you like to fall in love with conflict?

I can give you some compelling reasons why – and some tips on making the shift toward welcoming conflict as a growth opportunity.

Need some convincing?

Here is why you want to shift the way you think about and approach conflict.

Conflict will always be present.

I like to say, “Where there are two or more people gathered together, there will be conflict!”

Why? Varying perspectives, beliefs, convictions, agendas… This means you can’t run and hide forever, unless you choose to be a hermit.

Conflict is an opportunity to strengthen working relationships.

If handled well, separating issues from personalities, it can become a way that two opposing parties become a unified team solving a problem together.

Conflict opens doors to new and creative possibilities.

Ever heard someone say, “What’s the third good option?”

This means, can we move from “either, or” (your way or my way), to another solution that might give both of us what we need…that might solve the issue even better?”

How do you get to the point where you actually love conflict when you encounter it?

The tricky thing is most of us fear conflict until we learn how to handle it, and we tend to run to our own platform of emotional safety.

In order to move from fear to a state of openness, you will first want to recognize what conflict can do for you, your relationships, and potential outcomes.

Here are five tips to get you started so that you can truly begin to fall in love with conflict:

1. Begin to shift your personal views about what conflict is.

Begin recognizing that conflict can be an exciting opportunity for dialogue and reaching shared agreement around issues that are important to you and to solving problems.

Conflict is usually a simple combination of (1) two or more people, or different parts of the same person; (2) a disagreement over unresolved issues, process, outcomes, or facts; and (3) negative emotions around strong convictions or one’s opinion on said issue/process/facts.

There can be more variables to creating a conflict, but these three are all you need to get a conflict started. If you find yourself in conflict and can remember the anatomy of conflict above, it will allow you to take a deep breath as you begin to approach it.

2. Recognize that personal triggers around conflict may or may not be valid.

Each time a conflict arises, you probably get two triggers – an emotional one and a physical one.

When this happens, your mind makes up a story to support your bodily sensations and emotions, such as, “This is unpleasant and doesn’t feel good. Leave immediately.”

What you are experiencing is the safety mechanism your brain developed for you from an early age so that you feel safe. However, now that you are an adult, it’s time to re-examine this conditioning, because some of these triggers are no longer useful or valid.

For example, when you were small, you may have felt rejected or inappropriate for speaking up in at the dinner table. But now that you are older, not being able to speak up in groups or social settings may be debilitating for you.

So, as you move forward and experience uncomfortable sensations and emotions, ask yourself if these triggers are valid for the situation, or if you need to take a deep breath and re-examine what is happening.

3. Set the stage for collaboration with others in the conflict.

Change your language about conflict as it arises with others. When the air is tense, it’s helpful to remind yourself and others that this is actually a growth opportunity. Be a leader in setting this new framework with statements or phrases that include, “I’m feeling some tension, here. Can we talk together about the issue that’s stirring the pot for us?” Or, “I feel passionate about this, and it seems like you do, too. I think we can come up with a creative solution. Are you game to sit with me so we can work this out?”

Notice that I am avoiding any finger-pointing in these phrases. I am also using a lot of “we” phraseology – can “we” work this out, can “we” sit down together… By using this kind of language, you are implying that you are collaborative, on the same team. This is when great things can happen.

4. See pause points as growth opportunities.

Are you and the other person in the conflict stalled at a certain point in working things out?

Say so.

Call this out, as though you are noticing an elephant in the room. When tension mounts, so can voices, platforms, and personal agendas.

On the other hand, when you are able to name the tension in the room, this allows the other person to relax a bit, as well. You might ask them if they would like some water or coffee, or to stretch their legs a bit. Get up and stretch yours. This will provide some regrouping of energy and emotion, so that when you come back together to sit and examine the matter at hand, you can do so more even-handedly. And handling things in this way is great growth.

5. Thank the other person for being willing to work things out with you.

At the beginning of your conversation together, and again after you have reached an outcome or conclusion, let the other party know that you appreciate their willingness to explore things together. You want to help them see that working things out with you is collaborative, even-handed, thoughtful, and respectful. You want to encourage them to come back next time so that the two of you can arrive at some great solutions together.

If you can begin to approach conflict with these five steps, you have not only set the stage to work things out, but to forge deeper, more meaningful relationships and greater outcomes.

Where do you feel you excel in conflict management? And where would you like to be stronger?

Patti Cotton

Patti Cotton reenergizes talented leaders and their teams to achieve fulfillment and extraordinary results. For more information on how Patti Cotton can help you and your organization, click here.