The future of work demands Disruptive Leaders
Announcing a new coaching program aimed at building the leaders of the post-2020 workplace
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My proudest moment as a leader was in early 2021. One of my employees messaged me one morning saying they weren’t feeling well and wouldn’t be working that day. No biggie, I responded, hope you feel better soon. One day turned into two, then three, then four. I hadn’t heard anything further about what might’ve been going on, nor did I feel an urgency to pry. Still, I reached out to offer any support I could.
“Can I call you?” they asked abruptly.
“Absolutely.”
They shared with me the emotional toll the past week had taken on them: family members and family friends battling severe cases of COVID, forced isolation, and a looming anxiety that they and their immediate family would be next. For 15 minutes, we just…talked. As humans. I thanked them for being vulnerable with me. I shared my own fears about the environment around us. “Take the time that you need,” I told them. “Focus on yourself and your family right now.” They returned the following week and didn’t miss a step.
Why does that small moment stick out in my mind? After all, there was no fanfare involved, no tactical accomplishment, no innovative technique implemented nor efficiency gained. If anything, conventional corporate logic tells us that I risked work not being done, productivity being lost. Still, it serves as my proudest moment as a leader because it confirmed that my approach of leading with heart and humanity was paying off. It meant that, in the previous 10 months as a first-time leader, I had cultivated an environment where my team members felt safe to share their full selves with their boss without fear of repercussions or judgment. Through that, trust was built among the team: trust that allowed each of us to speak our minds, share wild ideas and own the work we set out to do. The business wins followed: new tools created, fresh methods put in place, costs saved and money gained. All during a particularly precarious time for the traditional world of work, anchored by a seismic shift in the role people saw their jobs and their organizations playing in their lives, and spotlighted by an unprecedented wave of resignations across nearly every industry and job type.
Revolution at Work
Let’s get one thing clear: Today’s world of work is far different from two years ago. Those who recognize this and are actively working to adapt their tools, techniques, policies and practices accordingly are leaps and bounds ahead of those who insist on digging their heels in and forcing 2019 norms on 2022 people.
People are no longer interested in having to choose between their jobs and their personal lives in the fight for their attention, and they’re no longer interested in compartmentalizing their time, energy and health doing something that does not align with their values and sense of purpose. Study after study validates the sentiment that people want more from their work: they want meaning, they want fulfillment, they want control over their schedule. And if their current organization’s culture is not meeting their renewed needs, they are not hesitating to look elsewhere.
Organizations can no longer exist in a vacuum. Today’s employees demand that their organizations work with a purpose that serves their communities and society at-large. They want their organizations to take a stand on issues that matter to them, including social, environmental and equity issues.
At the end of the day, I think the underlying factors driving this shift in attitudes are fundamentally human. For example, people don’t want their employers to establish and fulfill ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) positions because it’s better for business; they want this because, as humans, they see the hurt, the inequity and the fear in their communities and strive to use their platforms, both personal and organizational, to address it. The better we can tune in to the emotions and human factors that underpin people’s demands of today’s organizations, the better we can shape our business strategies to meet them.
What now?
So, what can we do? How can we transform our organizations to align with the revolution that is going on around us? I believe it starts with transforming the way we lead. Leaders have an immense responsibility to create an environment where their people feel safe, empowered and valued, where their organizations define and operationalize their values, take a stand on the issues that matter and meet their stakeholders where they are at. But, right now, instead of properly teaching leaders (particularly new leaders) the skills it takes to manage human beings with individual motivators, triggers, wants and needs, we simply throw high-performing individual contributors into the ocean of leadership and expect them to figure out how to swim.
The truth is that leadership is not a bolt-on skill you unlock automatically on the journey of life. Leadership, particularly in 2022 and beyond, requires self-awareness, empathy and clear values. Leadership requires courage. And leaning into courage can be incredibly difficult without the proper guidance.
My philosophy focuses on inside-out leadership. I want to create leaders who recognize the importance of leading themselves before leading others, who know that their roles go beyond the X’s and O’s, who don’t take for granted the incredible responsibility they bear to foster environments of psychological safety, belonging and trust. I want to create Disruptive Leaders who are ready to lead the future of work, to make an impact on their people and their communities.
This is why I’m stepping into the field of leadership coaching and kicking off efforts focused on building Disruptive Leaders. Today, I’m starting:
Disruptive Leader Journey: a 1-on-1 coaching program aimed at any current and aspiring leaders looking to elevate how they show up for themselves, their people and their work
A weekly newsletter about the future of work and the in’s & out’s of Disruptive Leadership, plus fun stuff like curated playlists and journaling prompts
And there’s so much more launching in the coming weeks and months that I’m really excited about: an invite-only group chat for leaders to have honest conversations + build community, a practical guide specifically for new leaders about surviving thriving on the first steps of their leadership journey, and a digital exercise for taking back control of your time.
The Journey Ahead
I’m so excited for what’s next. Through this work, I truly believe we can re-shape the role of organizations and their people. Be warned, however, that the road we’re embarking on is not for the faint of heart. It will require deep, often uncomfortable, reflection from seasoned, new and aspiring leaders about who they are, their personal values and why they want to be leaders. I’m here to challenge your conventions about leadership, question the status quo about the idea of work and help you become the best leader for this reimagined world. If you’re ready to transform who you are as a leader, for your people, for your organization and for your community, let’s start the journey together.
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To learn more about the Disruptive Leader Journey program, my philosophy behind Disruptive Leadership and to schedule a free Discovery Session, check out my website!