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Articles and Podcasts for C-Suite [JUN. 9th]
Key Takeaways
- Radical adaptability is different from typical responses to change. It is predictive and proactive. It helps leaders to better predict the future and use agile sprints, collaborative problem-solving, and resilient teams to mobilize resources.
- There is a continuous disconnection in the perception of employees and employers regarding well-being and mental health in organizations. The average difference between employer and employee perception is 22%.
- New best practices for leadership development in a hybrid work environment include: "programs should be iterative and experimental, embedded in day-to-day work, supported by coaching, and span all modes of delivery from all-virtual to fully in person".
Introduction
This report provides three key articles on interesting topics to keep the C-suite informed of important trends and provocative ideas that may change the way an organization behaves. Further details on the logic can be found in the Research Strategy section.
Adapt Or Die. In The New World Of Work, It’s More Than A Nifty Slogan
- Article published by Forbes on June 8, 2022. It has an audio version.
- The article presents an interview with Keith Ferrazzi and Kian Gohar, authors of Competing in the New World of Work.
- In an ever-changing world, three options are available to companies. They can oppose change and become irrelevant. They can wait for change and react to it, then hang and hope for survival. Or they can anticipate change proactively, then adapt to it and thrive.
- While it sounds so simple, there are many people who settled for the first two options. While the future is coming faster than expected, we are experiencing an unprecedented age of opportunity.
- The COVID-19 pandemic helped to discredit many myths regarding the world work. For example, it proved that collaboration and productivity are not determined by work location, but how one showed up to work. What matters is not physical distance, but strategic, operational, and affinity distance.
- Radical adaptability is different from typical responses to change. It is predictive and proactive. It helps leaders to better predict the future and use agile sprints, collaborative problem-solving, and resilient teams to mobilize resources.
- Organizations can thrive in spite of any new disruption the future brings by developing a team strength for radical adaptability.
- Companies that fail to take advantage of the intelligence of distributed teams and develop resilient teams and inclusive workspaces will be victims of the consequences of the Great Resignation. Those that decide to co-explore the future with employees, will flourish.
Addressing employee burnout: Are you solving the right problem?
- Article published by McKinsey on May 27, 2022.
- Employers are wondering if they can effect change when burnout is at all-time highs, despite investing huge resources in employee well-being and mental health. McKinsey research shows they can.
- McKinsey conducted a global survey to better understand the disparity between employer efforts and increasing employee well-being and mental-health challenges, which were observed since the beginning of the pandemic.
- Many companies provide several wellness benefits such as "yoga, meditation app subscriptions, well-being days, and trainings on time management, and productivity".
- While these efforts are laudable, they found that "many employers focus on individual-level interventions that remediate symptoms, rather than resolve the causes of employee burnout".
- The survey highlighted a continuous disconnection in the perception of employees and employers regarding well-being and mental health in organizations. The average difference between employer and employee perception is 22%. And employers consistently rate well-being and mental health dimensions in the workplace more favorably than employees.
- McKinsey offered eight strategies that can potentially address the burnout-related challenges. They include treating employee well-being and mental health as a strategic priority, effectively addressing toxic behaviors, creating inclusive work environments, enabling individual growth, promoting sustainable work, holding leaders accountable, effectively tackling stigma, and ensuring that resources address employee needs.
What Leadership Development Should Look Like in the Hybrid Era
- Article published by Harvard Business Review on June 1, 2022.
- In traditional leadership development, "70% of learning happens through on-the-job experience, 20% though feedback, and 10% through formal training".
- Research conducted within the last three years shows that there is an alternative which provides a more effective framework for the leadership development process.
- It focuses on three actions: "sensemaking, or understanding how the business world and the organization works around you; experimenting, or testing ideas; and self-discovery, or figuring out your own identity in the workplace".
- This framework was implemented at HSBC, and it enhanced the development of the participants. The experiment also highlighted new best practices for leadership development in a hybrid work environment: "programs should be iterative and experimental, embedded in day-to-day work, supported by coaching, and span all modes of delivery from all-virtual to fully in person".
Research Strategy
To find key articles and podcasts published in the last two weeks on interesting topics to keep the C-suite informed of important trends and provocative ideas, we leveraged reputable sources in the public domain including McKinsey, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Deloitte, Stanford University, and NY Times. While we found some podcast episodes published in the last two weeks, we could not select any of them as they did not focus on the subject.