Do you worry about becoming irrelevant?
“The biggest shame trigger at work is the fear of irrelevance.” Brené Brown [1]?
Brené says when we’re afraid, we tend to self-protect. This is an instinctive reaction when faced with an unpredictable future. We can respond by building up armour around ourselves, and this armour becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Brené explains that armour can make us become self defensive and critical, so that we shut ourselves off to feedback and learning.?
If your work involves #transformation , #growth and #change you are likely to be agreeing with this. I’m sure you know people in your work and life that exactly fit the description of a prickly, self-defensive person.
In the years ahead, a lack of learning is a guaranteed way to accelerate towards becoming irrrelevant: superfluous and expendable.
How does this apply to you??
Ask yourself: To what extent do you worry about becoming irrelevant at work??
I admit I am worried.?I am afraid of irrelevance, and I'm also excited by everything new there is to learn and explore. I've worked in business transformation for over 25 years and I have no doubt the pace of innovation, development and change will continue to accelerate.?
Our skills are becoming obsolete at a rate never seen before. In last month’s article, my colleague Dr Norman Chorn and I focused on the radical shift in the skills required for digital transformation over 2 decades.[2]
The World Economic Forum predicted in 2020 that “50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025.” [3]
What can we do about this?
We cannot control our environment, the only thing we can control is our own response.?I believe everyone needs a personal strategy to ensure continued relevance in the future world of work. If you aren't worried, you should be. If you aren't excited you should be.
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My main strategy for future proofing my skills is small LIVE discussion groups.?I host these groups for OD practitioners and transformation experts.?We meet monthly on Zoom to explore curated, trending topics.?This is built upon principles I’m known for championing: growth, openness and generosity.?I haven't found anything like this globally that has a specialized OD/transformation focus that is a LIVE discussion, in groups that are small enough to?create a sense of belonging and trust - so that the group can share real issues and reflect on what it means for them.
I am starting another cohort soon. If you'd like to be added to the wait list and find out more when space becomes available, click here .
Meantime, happy learning, happy exploring. ??
Sources:
[1] Brene Brown, brenebrown.com
[2] Lisa Carlin and Dr Norman Chorn, Critical capabilities and skills for successful digital transformation, December 7, 2022
[3] Future of Jobs Report 2020, World Economic Forum
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About Lisa Carlin
As a digital transformation specialist and scaleup mentor, Lisa guides leaders to accelerate their transformation to a 'Unicorn" organisation. Those working with Lisa have a sounding board and expert guidance to scale up with speed and precision, so they can grow business value faster. Lisa is Co-Founder and Director of FutureBuilders Group of organisational development specialists, Chair of the University of Cape Town Australia Trust, and on the Advisory Board of Rebelliuz, the Tiktok for jobs.
Senior Consultant
1 年Yes relevance or the lack of is of great concern for many workers. I would suggest that the levels of concern and rate of transformation causing that concern will vary greatly across different industries. The person who commented earlier is a Microsoft employee and therefore in an industry with a very high rate of change. In other industries relevance may not be judged by educational levels but more by the level of physical skill shown. A electrician who cannot strip a wire and make a connection quickly will very quickly become irrelevant.
Organisational Development | Inclusive Leadership I Building and growing diverse talent
1 年A thoughtful article Lisa Carlin. I think this is an important topic to discuss particularly for an aging workforce. One of the many benefits of your learning group is the opportunity to 'cut through the noise' and work out where to focus our attention.
Microsoft Healthcare Consulting Lead | Certified Health Informatician | Fellow AIDH | GAICD | MSP | MBA | BEc Computer Science
1 年Great post, Lisa Carlin. As a fellow business/digital transformation practitioner, I have never seen the degree of continuous knowledge and skill development required of me now, as a Microsoft employee, compared to any other organisation that I've worked with (there have been more than 30). Long-time Microsoft colleagues tell me that this is the case for them too: you used to have to know-it-all; nowadays you have to learn-it-all. Sure, I'm in the tech sector, at the sharp end of digital transformation. But even if Microsoft is a more extreme version of it, #learnability will be increasingly important in most professions and industries. On the upside, I am not likely to become irrelevant anytime soon. ??
Director & Co-founder at FutureBuilders and HR Connections
1 年Great article Lisa Carlin. Our learning group has been and will continue to be a great source of learning, challenge, collaboration and skill building. Such a timely prompt as we enter a new year!
Business Strategist & Future Thinker Helping People Lead and Build Strong Organisations in Times of Change | Neurostrategy | Strategic Leadership | Corporate Resilience | Non-executive Director | Speaker & Author
1 年The lack of relevance is a key factor in organisations and individuals failing in their market or field. There is a natural progression of focus in both organisations and individuals - it moves from being acutely aware of "how can I understand and meet the needs of what's going on out there" towards a more internal focus of "how can I get more efficient and better at what I'm doing". This is a natural evolution that occurs most of the time. As it occurs, we slowly move "out of alignment" with the external environment - becoming less relevant. Being open to regular feedback and different opinions is one way of gauging just how far you have moved out of this "alignment". And then the somewhat painful (sometimes) process of adjustment occurs. What strikes me is that, in a rapidly changing environment,the slow incremental approach may not be enough. We may need to make more regular adjustments by learning new skills or developing new capabilities jst to remain relevant. Lisa's article is a timely reminder of the need to check our "alignment" regularly and make the adjustments sooner that later. Thanks Lisa Carlin