205 - Guest: Gary Bolles, Future of Work author, part 2
May 20, 2024
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Gary Bolles, an author and co-founder dedicated to helping job-hunters and career changers, dives deep into the future of work. He discusses 'un-bossing' and the shift towards collaborative team dynamics enhanced by AI. Bolles highlights overcoming fear as a barrier to growth, advocating for agency and proactive mindsets in navigating AI's impact. He emphasizes the importance of leadership in adapting to transformative technologies, ensuring organizations thrive amid rapid changes in the workplace.
The Community Operating System enables organizations to function without hierarchical management, allowing for dynamic team formation and enhanced adaptability.
The evolving role of leadership emphasizes empowerment over control, fostering a culture of accountability and innovation in response to AI advancements.
Deep dives
The Community Operating System
The concept of the Community Operating System is essential in understanding the intersection of technology and human interaction in the workplace. This framework proposes that organizations can function effectively without traditional hierarchical management structures by aligning teams around a common purpose, synchronizing activities, and holding each other accountable for results. For instance, rather than having a rigid reporting hierarchy, teams can dynamically form around specific problems to be solved, allowing for greater flexibility and adaptability. This approach also highlights the role of AI, suggesting that it can act as a powerful assistant to managers, extending their capabilities and helping to manage relationships and information more effectively.
Redefining Leadership and Empowerment
The discussion emphasizes a transformative shift in the role of leadership within organizations, where the focus is on fostering empowerment rather than control. Traditional metrics of leadership success, which often center around the number of problems resolved, are evolving towards how effectively leaders can empower their teams to tackle challenges independently. For example, practices like 'un-bossing' encourage those in leadership roles to step back and allow team members to drive solutions, thereby fostering a culture of accountability and shared purpose. This shift is crucial for organizations striving to innovate and adapt in today's fast-paced, AI-driven environment.
Overcoming Fear and Embracing Change
Fear plays a significant role in shaping organizational behavior, often hindering progress and innovation. To navigate the rapid changes brought by AI and technology, individuals and organizations must move beyond their comfort zones and cultivate a positive vision of the future. By understanding that fear can prevent agency and growth, organizations can harness tools and frameworks that facilitate transformational change while addressing their deepest apprehensions. This journey requires collective effort and a willingness to rethink organizational structures and practices, ultimately embracing a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability.
There is, perhaps, no more burning topic at the moment than the future of work, and so I am particularly grateful to welcome to the show Gary Bolles, author of The Next Rules of Work and a co-founder of eParachute.com, helping job-hunters & career changers with programs inspired by the evergreen book “What Color Is Your Parachute?” written by his father. Gary's courses on LinkedIn Learning have over 1 million learners and he is a former Silicon Valley executive and a co-founder of SoCap, the world’s largest gathering of impact entrepreneurs and investors.
Gary is adjunct Chair for the Future of Work for Singularity University, and as a partner in the consulting agency Charrette, he helps organizations, communities, educators and governments develop strategies for “what’s next.”
In the conclusion of the interview, we talk about unbossing and holacracies, how AI will impact organizational structures, fear, FOMO, and agency, and the Singularity University.
All this plus our usual look at today's AI headlines.