Together, how can we get the next 10 years right?

It’s a simple yet very bold question…

Last week I had the pleasure of joining CogX, the leadership summit and festival of AI and emerging technology where I hosted a panel discussion on The Economy & Future of Work Track. It wasn’t quite the session I had planned for at the start of the year, as CogX was an in-person experience, but given current crisis moved to a digital event. Having been in lockdown for almost 3 months, it was a pleasure to experiment with a crew at my house to deliver a virtual event and also great to engage and connect with other CogX attendees.

The overall theme of the event was “how to get the next 10 years right?”. I loved this theme because I believe we have a unique opportunity as we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis to think through what good we can find collectively from what has been an incredibly tragic situation for so many.

I spent some time reflecting upon the many questions I’ve been asked over the last few months, and the lessons I’ve learnt from others navigating the current climate. The session, Future Work Re-Imagined went deep into the themes of leadership, competitiveness and creating the future – which I know are top of mind for many.

I was thrilled to be joined by two people that inspire me with their deep expertise and ability to synthesise the complex into practical advice. Dr Chris Brauer, Director of Innovation, Institute of Management Studies, Goldsmiths University of London. Dr Chris, for his expertise in navigating the intersection of technology and business potential and Dr Osvald Bjelland, Founder & CEO Xynteo, who advises both Governments and business leaders around the globe on how to think about growth, business strategy and leadership. I wanted to share some of the highlights from the session with you:

Leadership in a challenged world:

We are seeing the perfect storm as many cultural, political and environmental factors conflate, which together are rupturing the very fabric of what work really means. As I look ahead with some optimism to what hopefully will be a period of renewal, as business emerge from COVID-19, we should recognise leadership decisions being made now will impact the world for many years to come. We discussed the belief that great leadership is about understanding how the world is changing around you and adapting to deliver the best outcomes, and increasingly doing so at pace. We have seen incredible examples of leadership uniting and bringing people together, but sadly also examples of leadership creating division and conflict. Empathy and truly understanding the unique context of your people, and customers will continue to be critical. The tone and language used by leaders underscores that point.

It’s also interesting to consider for a moment how the role of leadership has changed. We discussed that some business leaders have typically focused upon things within their direct control, and may well be finding that approach no longer works. Increasingly leadership is about standing for something. Customers, employees and society more broadly are expecting business to have a view on topics like environment, race discrimination and COVID-19, which means the skill profile of great leaders is also evolving in line with this new reality. Great leadership is about being well connected to the external environment and of course able to clearly communicate a vision and position with the world. We also talked about the role of leadership in creating energy and optimism to move the organisation forward, even in the most challenging of circumstances. Finally we concluded that great leaders embrace a mindset of continuous learning, both for themselves and their organisations.

Enabling Competitiveness:

Competitiveness has been a top of mind priority for many business leaders, and research suggests technology has a major role to play. Back in 2018 UK business that invested in creating an augmented workforce, which put simply is about enabling people with the right technologies, and investing in culture to enable new ideas and innovation to flourish, enjoyed a 5% uplift in revenue. By 2019 that number increased to 11%, meaning there is a significant opportunity for those advancing in the digital economy. Organisations that reimagined their operations and invested in technology to power new business models and ways to connect with customers versus simply updating the technologies they had already enjoyed the greatest success. If we look at the businesses succeeding in the current climate many of them have technology and innovation at their core but they are increasingly purpose led, and have been able to operationalise ethics within their organisation.

As the context shifts, competitiveness often comes down to confidence in understanding risks and responding accordingly. Many companies who had a global supply chains were severely impacted and would have benefitted from complimenting their global supply chains with local contingencies to minimise the disruption. Managing these risks to stay competitive is the balance many business are facing and linked to this is the importance having the right talent, the right team and the right capability to make such decisions.

Finally on competitiveness we recognised the fact the UK remains a great place to do business, but in times great change there can be a temptation to become more insular as a country and look inwards when we have so much great skills and expertise that could benefit the rest of the world. Being open for business will be key to our economic recovery. Seeing the innovation happening on the high street as retailers opened their doors for the first time in months across Britain earlier today, was a great example of the openness and innovation that will help us. I was pleased to see entire shopping experiences reimagined, with the customer experience and technology at the heart.

Building the future:

To conclude the discussion, we focused upon the future and in answering the question: how do we get the next 10 years right? At the core it’s about ensuring we don’t leave people behind. With some figures suggesting up to 7.5 million jobs are at risk in the UK, with people and places with the lowest incomes more vulnerable it’s time for action.

Skills will be critical, and employers must move forward reskilling initiatives that are meaningful and allow broad participation. Employees and entrepreneurs will increasingly embrace a continuous learning mindset, as education and skills development is no longer limited to education establishments with barriers to entry for some. Unprecedented amounts of knowledge are now available and that’s exciting for those that may not be able to attend institutionalised environments. This notion of participation will unlock economic opportunity for years to come, but only if we act today.

Programs like apprenticeships that blend practical skills with academia will play a vital role in creating opportunity but also economic progress as new generations enter the workforce and plug some of the many gaps we see across the skills landscape today.

One thing for sure though to get the next 10 years right we will have to examine our assumptions about what the workplace really is, and how we create environments in which people of all walks of life and from every background can bring their whole selves to work and be afforded the opportunity to contribute.

To watch the full session from CogX - skip to 5hrs 53 mins