One has to agree that work life has changed over the past decade with the advent of outsourcing for costs and skills and that of new technology. Work life has changed dramatically over the last three years with the introduction of new ways to communicate, productivity tools, cloud computing and an ability to work from anywhere, anytime!
The concept of globalization and working with a person sitting on the other side of the world is not new. What is new is the handling of real time communication platforms using social networking and leading and supporting someone who is working from home across the world.
What does a flat world mean for leadership? How should a leader handle leadership responsibilities in this flat world?
I think the key factor you need in this hyper connected world is leadership communication… I assume that if you’re a leader you know and follow this practice already. A new leader…A person on his/her journey to the top should keep the following practice in mind:
Learn how things have changed around you and change your work style and mindset to match. You probably tweet and use Facebook often personally ,but think about how you can use social network to connect with your employees. So, go ahead… collaborate!
Communication is very critical to keep employees informed and engaged. So you have no excuses with so many messaging apps or software around you. Use them and increase your effectiveness. Leadership communication in today’s hyper connected environment is more important than before. The attitude of employees has changed. They are no longer passive consumers of information but active producers as well so all information needs to be real-time, accurate and worthy of consumption. This attitude remains the same toward leadership communication. Both leaders and employees want communication to be timely and accurate.
What Thomas Friedman, who authored ‘The World is Flat – A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century said “I said that more people in more places can now compete, connect and collaborate with equal power and equal tools than ever before”
