Upgrade Your Thinking: Why New Mental Models are the Key to Success
Panel discussion at SIOP's Annual Conference

Upgrade Your Thinking: Why New Mental Models are the Key to Success

Thank you to all who completed the poll a few weeks ago on what topic you wanted to hear most about from the annual SIOP conference.?"New mental models on work" was the clear winner!

While SIOP was full with lots of great research and insights on everything ranging from leadership development to hybrid work best practices to using generative AI, it was a simple statement made by a panelist that left the biggest impression on me this year. The panel discussion was on the difficulty of moving traditional in-person learning into distributed work environments and they remarked, “Its not going to work unless we adopt a completely new mental model around remote learning. We can’t expect to see behavioral changes and effective outcomes with the same way of thinking about learning.”?

As I reflected on this statement, I realized why it feels like we’ve been banging our heads against the wall for the past three years when it comes to the future of work. We’ve experienced this monumental change in how we work and live, driven in large part by a global pandemic, and yet keep pulling from old ways of thinking to try to make sense of the upheaval around us. And it has led to often circular debates about whether remote work is effective, whether AI will take away our jobs and whether or not we are actually becoming more or less productive as work changes.?

To start the dialogue I’ve created a From-To chart below, to help illuminate where I think we need mental model upgrades about our work. We are no longer in experimental mode. What we do now is becoming the norms of tomorrow. And if we want to create a different, albeit better future of work, we have to rethink many foundational assumptions of people at work.

Yes, remote work is highly effective when we adopt a new mental model of how to work together in a distributed environment. Yes, AI will disrupt many jobs if we don’t actively redesign jobs now. And, the endless debate around productivity will remain unless we change the way we define and measure the value of human’s at work, which is moving beyond thinking of work productivity in hours worked.

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Learn more about upgrading your mental models:

Learn More on individual vs teamwork mindset at work. My textbook on a new management framework. Helpful summary here on complex adaptive systems. Great reading on how to establish async best practices from Microsoft Labs. Excellent academic read on a new skill-fit theory.


I'd love to hear what you think. What is missing from this chart and where do you think most organizations are stuck? Look forward to this community's thoughts!

#futureofwork #mentalmodels #remotework #siop23

About the Author

Dr. Kelly Monahan is a Managing Director at Upwork, leading their future of work research program. Her research has been recognized and published in both applied and academic journals, including MIT Sloan Management Review and Journal of Strategic Management. In 2018, Kelly released her first book, How behavioral economics influences management decision-making: A new paradigm (Academic Press/Elsevier Publishers). In 2019 Kelly gave her first TedX talk on the future of work. Dr. Monahan is frequently quoted in the media on talent decision-making and the future of work. She also has written over a dozen publications and is a sought-after speaker on how to apply new management and talent models in knowledge based organizations. Kelly holds a B.S. from Rochester Institute of Technology, M.S. from Roberts Wesleyan College and Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership.

Al Dea

Helping Organizations Develop Their Leaders - Leadership Facilitator, Keynote Speaker, Podcast Host

1 年

"if we want to create a different, albeit better future of work, we have to rethink many foundational assumptions of people at work." - Great line. I often think about the fact that in our personal and consumer lives, we're always looking for the most up to date version of the iphone or newest car, but somehow at work we are okay with using mindsets and practices that were made for decades ago. It's like we want a Tesla in our personal lives and at work we're okay with a Chevy Nova. To your quote, I'm often struck by two Eintsein quotes on this topic: "You can't use an old map to explore a new world" and "We cannot solve the problems of today with the same thinking that created them."

Nick Lynn

Engagement & EX | Leadership | Culture

1 年

Great insights and list. I was wondering about a "from-to" for people leadership as well, from e.g. aligning and coordinating => to enabling people to craft their jobs and bring their best ideas & creativity to their work. (Needs wordsmithing - sorry!) Thanks for sharing a great post!

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