So another week of lockdown and another week of governments and organisations trying to plan what the new world looks like for us all. We are working out ways to get our people and businesses back to normality with minimal consequences, whilst also capturing what will be different when some sort of normality returns. But what will that normality look like?
Just as the revolutionary race into space of the 50s and 60s, we need to pull on our technology and human visions to stretch our boundaries, make history and carve the blueprint of the future. There are clear similarities with now and then in combining the technology to hand with the passion and desire to change. As we look back at the somewhat primitive and bulky kit that was used for space travel, we too will reflect at Teams, Skype and Zoom and fondly smile in the not so distant future. How on earth did we manage with floppy disks and Filofaxes back then, I hear. I still recall the feel of those thick clocking in cards. Our working environment really has come a long way so far!
We have to consider how we enable the workforce to transition to a new world, and also how we identify and embed the people capabilities that we need to attract and develop. Are we reflecting and learning from this situation to capture the skills, experience and behaviours we need to thrive post Coronavirus. As organisations think of the shape of things to come, we must link structure and systems capability with the workforce standards for the future.
What does good performance look like in a digital and remote new world? What behaviours are essential for remote working and leadership? What constitutes good online communication skills? What does future talent look like? Now is the time to capture these! Organisations now need to marry the importance of being technically savvy with the skills and behaviours to excel in the new world. It’s not enough to think our previous ways of working will be totally applicable moving forward. We need to be brave by redefining and setting the standards and expectations of our future self, far more than just the ability and confidence to use video conferencing and shared documents.
Just as the pioneers of space travel looked down at the earth many moons ago, we too need to look at our world and reflect. This global crisis is our rocket fuel that can power us to new heights if we are looking at reaching the future land, on our terms. As we shape our organisations mothership on the launch pad, we now need to capture the people skills, capabilities and behaviours to drive it.
The People Pragmatist 