Welcome
Welcome to the
latest issue of Bringing Work to Life.
We explored
the following topics in the past twelve issues (all newsletters are
available at
www.elsdon.com/newsletters.htm):
o
Demystifying workforce metrics (Second Quarter 2008)
o
Transforming a Human Resources (HR) career (First Quarter 2008)
o
Stewardship and governance (November/December 2007)
o
Finding the peaks (September/October 2007)
o
Career plateaus – what to do about them (July/August 2007)
o
Workforce planning (May/June 2007)
o
Assessing your organization (March/April 2007)
o
Individual change (January/February 2007)
o
Guiding organizational change (November/December 2006)
o
One to one (September/October 2006)
o
New horizons (July/August 2006)
o
Our greatest asset (May/June 2006)
In this issue
we address “Career Interdependence.”
Career Interdependence
Enthusiasm and energy cascaded over the phone as we
talked. “It is so good to see these opportunities come to life.” This
is a paraphrase of words from a recent client calling to describe his
journey from the corporate world through the world of consulting, to a
new opportunity building a business in a field he cares deeply about.
Each step along this path required courage, personal initiative, and
each step required support from others. These steps epitomize the
career world of today and the future. How different it is from career
worlds of the past. The following figure provides one perspective on
this evolution:
From the 1950s through the 1980s large
organizations were prominent in the career landscape, whether in public
or private sectors. People in many such organizations enjoyed a measure
of employment stability in exchange for their continued presence and
fealty. This relationship fractured in the 1990s as the concept of
career tenure disintegrated in the private sector. Survival skills
became those of career self-reliance – survival of the fittest. Indeed
in the mayhem of the technology meltdown in the early 2000s, such an
approach is an understandable response to an unknown and radically
reshaping career landscape.
However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that
an approach based on satisfying only parochial needs, whether on an
individual or organizational level won’t serve us well for the future.
The parochial perspective leads either to tenuous or intractable
relationships that suppress full expression of talents in individuals,
and that limit organizational value creation. For example, on an
organizational level self-reliance leads to the concept of retention, a
one way relationship that stifles innovation and self-expression. On an
individual level, self-reliance can limit opportunities to give to, and
draw from, others for mutual benefit.
Which brings us to career interdependence. Career
interdependence recognizes the strengths and benefits that come from
integrating personal aspirations with communal resources. It is based
upon a concept of abundance, where collaboration benefits all, rather
than a zero-sum concept, where one person can only gain at the expense
of others. On an organizational level it translates into the concept of
affiliation, that of mutual partnership between individuals and
organizations (described in depth in the book Affiliation in the
Workplace).
Let’s examine where Interdependence fits into
evolving forms of career relationship on an individual level. To do
this we can map forms of career relationship as shown in the following
figure, based on the extent to which we define them ourselves and the
extent to which they are supported by others:
Entry to the work world is shown by the “Emerging”
oval in the center of the figure. This may come many times during our
lives as we explore different phases. From this entry we can
potentially move in four primary directions:
·
Disenfranchised
·
Dependent
·
Self-Reliant
·
Interdependent
Let’s look at each direction. The
following figure shows the number of discouraged workers (in thousands),
those who feel that no job is available in the U.S. This discouraged
group is currently about 400,000 people, having risen dramatically since
2000; during years of economic prosperity for only the wealthiest 1% or
less of our population.
The Disenfranchised population is
also reflected in average weeks unemployed, which have risen
dramatically since 2000 as shown in the following figure:
Those who are Disenfranchised, neither own their
own career direction, nor feel supported by others. Some rural and
urban communities have poverty rates exceeding 25%, college
participation rates below 5%, and lack of access to effective medical
care. Not surprisingly, in the absence of developed skills and
effective community support, and while living in the reality of poverty
and ill-health, this Disenfranchised domain can become a black hole in
the career relationship realm with a clear entry point but few exit
opportunities.
Conversely when we have much support from others
but limited opportunity to define our own career relationship, we enter
the Dependent relationship, shown in the upper left of the figure. This
describes the organizational world of the 1950s through the 1980s. And
there are vestiges of this relationship in the public sector in the U.S.
today, where the overall separations rate is only 39% of that in the
private sector.
The lower right of the figure captures the
self-reliant relationship driven by self definition and independence.
These quotes that followed a dot com failure in the early 2000s capture
some of this:
·
“if I say that I really love your company and your
corporate culture, and that I’ll do whatever it takes, including giving
up my life, and the pursuit of my own goals for your bottom line: I’m
lying.”
·
“You may now only borrow 40 hours of my life a week –
that’s all I’m gonna give.”
Such observations speak to lack of engagement,
lack of fulfillment and constrained organizational value creation.
What other option is available? This brings us to
career Interdependence in the top right of the figure.
Interdependence speaks to:
In considering both a personal path
forward and guiding and supporting others, interdependence as a
foundation principle can lead to enhanced individual fulfillment and
organizational and community prosperity. Interdependence offers another
lens through which to view our personal work life journey. A lens that
can strengthen our contributions, relationships, organizations and
communities.
Income Inequality
Evidence continues to emerge that corporate and
social policies in the US are leading to dramatic and disturbing
increases in income inequality. The following three figures are from a
March 15, 2008 paper by Emmanuel Saez, “Striking It Richer: The
Evolution of Top Incomes in the United States.” The first figure shows
the share of income going to the top 10% of our population now accounts
for almost 50% of our entire national income. This is a level of
inequality that even exceeds that which immediately preceded the great
depression in the late 1920s.
On further examination it turns out that this
inequality is ever more pronounced residing primarily in the top 1% of
the population, which now accounts for almost 25% of our entire national
income as shown in the following figure:
The excessive gains of this privileged group,
particularly since 2002, are underlined in the following table.
And as we hear more about looming shortfalls in
social security, the following figure shows that the 2001 and 2003 tax
cuts provided to the top 1%, which contribute to the gross inequities we
have just seen, are more than the projected social security shortfall as
shown in the following figure:
Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,
March 31, 2008
We face a major challenge in funding Social
Security; indeed current projections of needs are based on the recent
tax cuts expiring in 2010. This underlines the important choices we
face in ensuring an equitable distribution of our resources. We have a
long and important journey to a just and compassionate society.
Quote
“I hold my face in my two hands
No, I am not crying
I hold my face in my two hands
to keep the loneliness warm –
two hands protecting
two hands nourishing
two hands preventing
my soul from leaving me
in anger.”
For Warmth, Thich Nhat Hanh, quoted in Leading from
Within, edited by Sam Intrator and Megan Scribner.
Elsdon Organizational Renewal (EOR) Recent Mentions
·
Reviews of
“Affiliation in the Workplace: Value Creation in the New
Organization.” Ron Elsdon. Praeger, Westport, CT (2003)
o
Harvard
Business School
·
HBS Working Knowledge: Organizations
o
Global Diversity Institute
·
Global Diversity Institute - The Journal of Diversity Praxis
o
Journal of Asian Economics
·
ScienceDirect - Journal of Asian Economics : Ron Elsdon, Affiliation in
the Workplace: Value Creation in the New Organization, Praeger
Publishers, Westport, CT (2003) 280 pp. (hardcover), ISBN 1-56720-436-8,
$49.95.
o
Greenwood Publishing Group
·
Affiliation in the Workplace — www.greenwood.com
·
Chapter titled
“How Can You Grow Your Practice with Purpose?” in National Career
Development Association Monograph, “Starting and Growing a Business in
the New Economy” Edited by Sally Gelardin, 2007
·
Webcast for
Human Capital Institute (and associated white paper)
o
Building Workforce Affiliation to Keep Your Best and Brightest Talent
·
http://www.humancapitalinstitute.org/hci/research_community_product.guid;jsessionid=8C417EAC34880D6A38E82D4FBE2598C4?_webcastID=74366
·
Recorded
Webinar for Project Management Institute
o
“Becoming Career Fit in Turbulent Times”
·
http://pmi-issig.org/Default.aspx?tabid=319
·
“Building a
Strong Workforce Through Affiliation.” Chapter 26 in “On Staffing:
Advice and Perspectives from HR Leaders.” Eds. Nicholas Burkholder et
al, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken NJ (2004)
o
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0471410691,descCd-tableOfContents.html
·
“The Growing
Divide Calls for Advocacy.”
o
Article in March, 2007, NCDA Career Convergence magazine
·
http://209.235.208.145/cgi-bin/WebSuite/tcsAssnWebSuite.pl?Action=DisplayNewsDetails&RecordID=947&Sections=&IncludeDropped=1&AssnID=NCDA&DBCode=130285
·
“Reaching for
Our Deep Gladness”
o
Article in May, 2005, NCDA Career Convergence magazine
·
http://209.235.208.145/cgi-bin/WebSuite/tcsAssnWebSuite.pl?Action=DisplayNewsDetails&RecordID=625&Sections=6&IncludeDropped=&AssnID=NCDA&DBCode=130285
·
Mention in
article on cost of turnover
o
East
Bay Business Times, April 2005
·
Turnover costs exceed employers' estimates - 2005-04-25
·
“Worklife
Survival: Finding a Fit”
o
Article for HR West, February 2005 (Northern California Human Resource
Association)
·
http://www.nchra.org/StaticContent/Download/EXT0205007.pdf
·
Interview in
the education field “Affiliation as a Unifying Principle in Education”
o
Career Pro News
·
Affiliation and Education
·
MBTI Step II
workshop
o
CCDA News, April 2005
·
Local Chapter News
·
Review of ICDC
Global Issues Forum
o
CCDA, January 2005
·
ICDC Global Issues Forum
About EOR: Our Value Contribution
We enhance
your workforce, leadership and organization by:
·
Using
proprietary approaches to understand workforce and leadership challenges
·
Creating
tailored action plans and solutions to strengthen workforce and
leadership practices
·
Building
individual capabilities and contributions
We enable you
to focus on external results and building value, confident that your
organization and leadership are operating at peak effectiveness.
Our Mission
To support
your organization by enhancing performance, productivity and
effectiveness through revitalized workforce relationships and leadership
practices.
Our Approach and Values
We tailor our engagements to the needs of each organization with a
process designed to surface critical issues, identify root causes, build
effective solutions, monitor progress and implement.
With a scope that ranges from system and organizational interventions to
work with individuals, our focus is on the heart of the relationship
among the individual, the organization and the community. We believe
that organizational and community prosperity are built on enabling each
person to fulfill his or her potential.
Our Services
We work with
individuals and groups in your organization to drive performance and
development for both the short and long term. As a result people will
choose to work in your organization and will prosper there.
We bring
solutions when you need to:
·
Reverse
declining revenues and performance
·
Revitalize
your workforce
·
Stem the loss
of key talent
·
Redirect your
organization to new areas
·
Stop losing
customers or market share
·
Penetrate new
markets
·
Combat
aggressive competitors
·
Handle major
change
·
Break down
communication barriers
·
Energize your
leadership team
·
Successfully
build on an acquisition or merger
Our
proprietary services include:
·
On-site career
services that support the development of your workforce, build strength
in depth, increase individual fulfillment and affiliation, and
accelerate productivity growth
o
On site career counseling
o
Individual and group delivery
o
Metrics to guide on-going system enhancement
o
Integrated with the needs of your organization
·
State-of-the-art tools to take the pulse of your organization and then
move to action
o
Web enabled systems
o
Experts to gather and analyze information, moving your organization to
action
·
Individual
leadership coaching to give you world class leadership capabilities
o
Leaders who know themselves and their aspirations, build their
capabilities and become catalysts developing others
·
Workshops to
build interpersonal skills in your organization so that:
o
Communication is timely, concise, accurate and personal
o
People listen to each other
o
Negotiations are quick and effective
o
Differences create rather than destroy value
o
Teams move forward, get results and quickly commercialize new products
and services
o
People understand and link their motivations to your organizational
needs
o
Your teams understand what it takes to create a committed, energized
workforce
o
People use their time well
·
Systems that
make it easy to drive performance and build capabilities by:
o
Linking objectives throughout the organization
o
Strengthening key competencies
o
Making sure you have the bench strength where and when you need it
o
Giving people tools to take charge of their own careers and development
and have a major long term influence on your organization
·
Proprietary
simulation and modeling techniques that let you explore how to maximize
the value of your workforce
o
Move from guessing what might happen to looking in depth at the
financial impact of different approaches
