Staying relevant in a changing workplace
“The person who’s says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it” - Chinese proverb.
Innovation is happening around you. So you can lead it, contribute to it, or move out the way.
You have unique experience that can help your employer or business to develop new ideas.
It’s known that diverse thinking, for example, in an innovation cell (a bringing together of people with different specialisms to define and solve a specific problem/ opportunity statement), leads to greater success.
Reflect on what you can bring to an innovation discussion- your firm is listening now more than ever as it works to stay relevant.
On the flip side, if you’re not responsible for innovation, consider what you can do to support it. Invoke a growth mindset and help colleagues to develop these ideas - at some point they’ll likely need expertise from your team. Reflect on whether you personally are a ‘blocker’ in this relationship.
The purpose isn’t to stop innovation, but to mitigate the risk. So rather than thinking ‘this will never work’ try ‘how can we make this work’.
You can train your brain to think differently and adapt to the pace of change. Here are other skills that will be prevalent in a changing workplace:
- being able to adapt quickly to new technology as it's introduced
- problem solving
- working out how to digitise key processes/ services
- simplifying - reducing process, streamlining customer journeys
- coaching & motivating staff to quickly adapt to change
So the actions for us to consider this week are:
- what can we do to support innovation?
- what skills can we develop to keep us relevant in a fast faced, changing workplace?
Interested to hear your views. Any other relevant skills I've missed?
