The Future-Proof Workplace. Goldsmith Marshall

uniformity, respectability, and conformity. People were supposed to look and act the same, to give customers a sense of comfort and predictability.

      The twentieth-century IBM model comes to mind, with the company-mandated blue suits and briefcases.

      The concept of company culture was only understood in the more sophisticated companies, and, in some cases, culture's impact on the bottom line was measured. In fact, a recent Harvard Business Review article showed that certain positive cultures could increase productivity.2

      In the twenty-first century most organizations understand that culture and values have everything to do with profitability. As Peter Drucker once said, “culture eats strategy for lunch.”

      Leaders now realize that values are the underpinnings of their culture. If they want a culture that truly empowers people, they must behave consistently with those values.

      Companies like LinkedIn start their business meetings with a discussion of the culture and how they are living up to those ideals. Decisions about what companies to partner with include serious consideration about compatible cultures. Even at the bottom-line-focused Wall Street Journal, you'll often see references to corporate culture as the driving force in success…and failure.

      A healthy culture, and living the values in daily behaviors, is essential for growth, adaptability, and innovation. No one can be left behind in the creativity department.

      3. Organizing Principles

      In the twentieth century, almost every medium to large organization had to have a mission and vision. In addition, these organizing principles of mission, vision, and strategy sometimes had values tacked onto the framework.

      You'd read the same verbiage on the walls: “We are collaborative,” said the poster, which was written and posted by the CEO without input from other employees. “We're customer-centric,” read the banner, in plain sight of everyone in the long line waiting to speak to a customer service representative.

      Companies spent millions developing clever statements, which were highly polished and completely ignored in day-to-day operations.

      Everyone knew the real focus was profit and shareholder value. These mission-vision tools did not make a measurable difference in the workplace no matter how hard we consultants tried.

      Today, in the twenty-first century, a compelling and impactful purpose, around which teams can get excited, is key. We know from studying the brain that people need an emotional connection to what they do. They need to feel inspired and believe they're making a difference if they are to make a real contribution. It's not enough to keep making a better widget or take more cost out of a process. People want to contribute to the greater good and have pride in what they do, whether they are keeping an airport bathroom clean or figuring out how to provide clean water for everyone on the planet.

      Members of the younger generation assess a company based upon their view of the real purpose of the enterprise and how well it is living up to that purpose.

      And today, with access to the Internet and the wealth of information at our fingertips, everyone can make an informed decision in about five minutes.

      4. Relationships

      Historically, many organizations played down the role of personal relationships at work. Work was a place where you did your job and got paid in return. Relationships and social connections happened outside of the office.

      If relationships were encouraged, it was in the name of teamwork. But we all know from personal experience that many teams don't work well and are often painful to be a part of.

      Efforts at team-building training, Robert's Rules of Order, and using facilitators all got put into play to help people relate better to each other. In some cases it worked and in some it did not. Engagement experts discovered that having good relationships at work was directly correlated to employee retention, but it was still not understood as a key component of successful work environments.

      Today a greater understanding of the role of relationships, not only at work but in business is general, is coming to light. Google began an interesting study in 2012 to examine its high-performing teams and determine exactly what made them great.3

      As it turned out, results had nothing to do with the processes that were put in place to keep teams on track and everything to do with the emotional connection between team members. As humans, we are hardwired for connection, and especially for emotional connection.

      This emotional connection made all the difference in what appeared, in some cases, to be a very messy team process.

      Reid Hoffman, former chairman of LinkedIn, in his book, The Alliance, points out that building alliances and mutual relationships with one's employees is essential. This is the secret glue that keeps people engaged and emotionally connected to the work while they are there. The added benefit is that if an employee leaves, which is happening much more frequently than in the past, they leave as a friend.

      5. Diversity and Inclusion

      Let's be frank. Diversity has been the focus of many organizations in the latter part of the twentieth century largely because of government mandates and laws – not necessarily because we value differences.

      Linda's early career was with Alcoa, a government contractor that had to report how many minority and female employees it employed to meet a quota.

      Meeting quotas to ensure diversity seemed to be the prevailing approach adopted by many companies at that time and even now. They did indeed meet the quota, but the diversity was always at the lower levels of the organization and seemed to remain there.

      With all the policies, programs, and quotas put in place, the needle has only moved about 17 percent for women in executive positions. An even smaller number are CEOs and a similarly small number for other minorities.

      Annual meetings of many organizations are still predominately white and male. Despite the growing availability of paternity leave policies for men, many men are hesitant to take advantage of them. More than half the men surveyed in a recent Deloitte survey said taking the leave would signal a lack of commitment to work, and more than a third said it would jeopardize their jobs.

      So much for great policies that don't work because of the inherent bias that exists in organizations and in each individual.

      We have to understand the root causes for why the needle has not moved substantially – why women are still earning less than men, and why minorities are still underrepresented.

      Based on our research and experience, the root cause is unconscious bias. And by the way, we all have bias. The brain is wired to take mental shortcuts and reacts quickly to the 11,000 cues we receive per minute. In fact, studies of the brain indicate that we do unconsciously gravitate to people of our own “tribe.”

      Our mind and emotions react before we're even aware of it. Is it any wonder organizational change is so challenging?

      In order to create a truly inclusive environment with a level playing field for all, we need to understand the role of unconscious bias and the role the brain plays in our ability to connect with people who are different from us.

      It is heartening to hear the dialogue going in this direction at some of the leading corporations. And the good news is, according to leading neuroscience researchers, the brain can be consciously rewired.

      6. Technology

      In the twentieth century, computing technology was in its infancy. It was used to speed communication, make information more readily accessible, and improve work processes.

      Tech was hardware-driven and infrastructure-focused. Efficiency was the primary goal, and sometimes the only goal.

      The twenty-first-century breakthrough in technology was largely missed: the ability to communicate, collaborate, and enjoy our work. But it's not too late. We'll address this and the other factors in future chapters.

      The twenty-first-century breakthrough in IT is about discovering patterns that were previously invisible. For example, predicting certain

2

Emma Seppälä and Kim Cameron, “Proof That Positive Work Cultures Are More Productive,” Harvard Business Review, December 1, 2015, https://hbr.org/2015/12/proof-that-positive-work-cultures-are-more-productive.

3

Charles Duhigg, “What Google Learned from Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team,” New York Times, February 25, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html?_r=0.