Champions for Change: Preparing for the Future of Work

While the popularity of remote work is the most visible sign of how employment has changed over the last year or so, it’s far from the only one. From a call for greater sustainability to a demand for alternative models for work and productivity, the pandemic has touched off an unusual opportunity to truly rewrite the future of work.

As the executive chair of the board of directors for Deloitte, where she plays an integral role in governance and oversight of critical business matters, Janet Foutty is in a strong position to help lead these efforts. Even before the COVID-19 crisis, she advised executives on technology disruption, organizational resiliency, and tactics for successfully navigating a fast-changing business landscape.

In her most recent Champions for Change video, AT&T Business’ CEO Anne Chow talked to Janet about how leaders in every industry can shape the future of work by embracing the evolution of technology, paying attention to the importance of mental and physical health to employee productivity, and why real action is required right now to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.

You can watch the full video here, but the key themes are covered below. 

https://www.dhirubhai.net/video/live/urn:li:ugcPost:6808528362408157184/ 

The Accelerating Pace of Technology

Janet shared a result from a survey Deloitte did at the beginning of the year in which 85% of CEOs revealed that they significantly accelerated digital transformation projects during the pandemic. Her main takeaway from this rapid shift toward technology? “The imperative to transform is clear, but the path is really challenging.” 

She points out that executives face a double challenge of trying to meet evolving needs in the present while simultaneously building a foundation that will support future innovation and competitive advantage. It’s the modern-day, real-world equivalent of cartoons showing railroad tracks being laid just ahead of a steaming train.

This requires organizations to evaluate how and where work is done, and by whom. “We're seeing condensed super teams that are really combinations of people and AI technology,” she notes, which leverage complementary abilities to support human-inspired innovation at a speed and scale that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. Between AI and talent, she says, “it’s not an either/or: It’s both.”

Anne points out that the data is another important piece of this collaborative approach. “We’ve all realized the power of data in a world that is hybrid right in its nature,” she says.  “Data becomes so critical to enable us to move forward and garner more intelligence.” The upshot is that we’re not rebuilding teams--we’re reinventing and re-imagining them.

A 360-Degree Concept of Wellness

Another aspect of work that the pandemic has heightened: well-being and its relationship to employee happiness and productivity, and the negative impacts across an organization when it is put at risk. Mental wellness especially has come to the fore, which has heightened awareness of the importance of a holistic approach to well-being--one that takes into account social behaviors, norms, and systems, not just the individual.

That means that well-being can’t just be grafted onto existing structures and processes, as has often been the case in the past. Instead, says Janet, “we have to think about how we integrate well-being back into the design of work.” And that, she emphasizes, must start at the top, with executives not just expressing well-being as something that is socially and culturally acceptable, but also examining and revising management policies, processes, and programs. 

Anne believes this new awareness around employee well-being and productivity is part of the responsibilities that come with leadership.  “If you choose to be a leader, you have an obligation to move forward with the art and science of leadership,” she says. “Executives must put the structural constructs in place to enable this and to support that culture.”

Holding Leaders Accountable for DEI Efforts

Janet points out that it’s been well-established that diverse teams and an equitable workforce have a positive effect on organizational performance. But even so, many businesses lag in their efforts to continuously promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). “The commitments and the statements that organizations make really fall flat if they're not tended to,” she says.

Here’s where data can be valuable--but it takes a willingness to analyze it at a deeper level. Deloitte released a DEI report earlier this year in which the company explored data about its employees in detail. “It allowed us to reflect on the successes of the past, but it was also very humbling,” she admits, especially when it came to findings about employee race and diversity across different levels of the organization. But the company made a deliberate choice to be transparent about the findings as a way to force it to be accountable for improvement.

Acknowledging the risk of such a move and the bravery it took to go through with it, Anne notes that most organizations tend to avoid such deeper internal searching. But “ultimately, you can’t improve your outcomes if you can’t measure them,” she says.

As with well-being, DEI must be incorporated into organizational DNA for truly meaningful change to occur. “ We really have to think differently about equity as the lens with which we think about every one of our processes and ways that we run our business,” says Janet.

Change Is a Group Effort

At a certain point in Janet’s career, she realized that she couldn’t tackle her job all on her own. “The challenges that we face, the opportunities that we face, are way too big, and the stakes way too high, for any one person to think they have all the answers,” she says.

As a result, she surrounds herself with people who inspire her with their skills and provide her with feedback--even when it’s uncomfortable. “If you have a champion mindset, it gives you that space and that confidence to allow yourself to be pushed,” she says. “

Anne points out that this kind of humility is a real advantage for leaders who want to be effective champions for change. “It’s about realizing that you don't have all the answers and that you can learn from anyone in any experience,” she says. 

The Future of Work Requires Inner Work 

Preparing for the future of work requires not just changing the way we do business but the way we think about business. From technology to wellness to DEI, organizations that are willing to engage in self-reflection as a path to transformation will be the most prepared for the potentially seismic shifts we’ll see in the next few years.

Learn more about Janet’s insights and experiences as a guide through times of disruption and change: https://www.dhirubhai.net/video/live/urn:li:ugcPost:6808528362408157184/