[Posted on Behalf of Rajeev Shukla, Founder and CEO, Castellum Labs]
The world around you is altering in irrevocable ways. Software/s is eating the whole sectors, not just the jobs, anymore. Within next decade, "The Enterprises" and "The Jobs", will take on a very different meaning. Some key questions ... !
How and what will be job profile of the future?
What would it mean for people who are to manage things?
Most of all, would there be "management layer" in conventional form/formats?
Radically Different Nature of Work Profile
One of the biggest changes in people and population engagement with the employers, will be related to work profile. Anything & all sequential and workflow based activities will get coordinated and done by automated systems and automated routines. In absence of stated & sequential work definition, employee will need to deliver on parameters, which are a far far departure from the traditional target or objective based models. Lets' take a look at what all would be the elements of "New Work Profile", when everything obvious, sequential and the repetitive will be replaced by AI, ML, Automation and Bots.
Problem Solving Abilities - A premium skill
In the face of elimination of the repetitive or predictable work pieces, problem solving skill will become premium. Systems and technologies by humans will always have gotcha point. Something will always break, sooner or later. In the age of automation, such gotcha points will turn out to be more complicated and more demanding in terms of resolution efforts. As of now, most of the people, do not really have problem solving, at the core of their learning.
The ability to develop and hone the skills of problem solving in the face of high degree of abstraction (where things are already automated) will ensure the job security.
Creative Inputs and Judgement
Quite a many times, application of a technology, within the frameworks of automation and artificial intelligence, will need creative inputs from workers. Those creative inputs (some time judgement) will not depend on accumulated knowledge or acquired intelligence of the workers. They will depend on lateral thinking, and, spontaneous application. Most of what we have today, in the modern educational setup, does not really prepare people for creative thinking, what to say of creative inputs on spontaneous basis.
Sensibilities based Impacts
At individual worker or employee level, understanding of local or (market geo) context will become paramount. Changing the course of a work element or altering the output of a work piece, based on local or geographical sensibilities will become another key skill. Employees will be valued for their ability to change automated outcomes of a process or workflow to create better impacts on local markets.
Global Collaboration for Innovation
Present model of collaboration at employee level are mostly for workflows. When one looks at global collaboration efforts, most of them boil down to communications for streamlining the workflows or else creating transparencies. An AI driven world will need & probably use global collaboration for innovation, which need cross economic and cultural exchanges.
What would it mean for "Management"
Such changes in employee work profile, will translate into incredible and paradigm level shift in management concepts and frameworks. Following will be key change drivers ...
Target Model will Fall Apart
Most of modern day management model are based on establishing, setting, selling and using target or objective. Targets or objectives will become an obsolete way to engage & drive the performance of an employee. Target models will not work, because of following reasons ..
Targets are mostly based on sequential work elements
They are also based on time scale binding to pieces of work
Changed work profile of employees will not need them to complete targets
Time scaling of delivery by an employee will be an obsoleted concept and model
Motivational Dimension for Employees
A lack of traditional targets or objectives, will lead to a lack of available motivational frame work, for managers to keep employees driven. For more than century, employees have been motivated through instruments of measured deliveries of targets or objectives. In times when almost all sequential work is gone, numbers will no longer will be a way to motivate people.
Flat Hierarchies and Progression Challenge
In a world where AI and ML has taken care of distribution and automation has taken care of completion of work piece, the present hierarchical model of organization will not be needed. A lack of hierarchical orgs will present a new problem to management, and that would be, to create both the sense and reality of career progression for employees.
Machine Fatigue
Quite a bit of "future work" will need an employees' interaction to be limited or focused on "intelligent systems and machines". That interaction, though productive, will have its own complication. Humans & their cognitive models and abilities, both are designed to perform in the midst of emotional touch points. Employees use the peer, lateral & management level interactions to bring out the best in them. When you look at the future of work, a lot of this interaction will get limited to machines or intelligence. And, that would create a set of new challenges for management.
What would New Future Management need?
Though it is to be seen, how much and quickly things change on the horizon of industries, their adoption of new technologies and corresponding business models, some speculative guesses can be made, now ...
Deep technology embedded visioning capabilities
Understanding of organizations in super connected world
Understanding of orgs in a world, where personal interaction is limited
Designing progression models which are not dependent on hierarchical org
Creating objectives and goals which are around personal behaviors of employees
Creating emotional anchor in a world where interaction are mostly machines/intelligence
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