New Peer to Peer Power

Abundance Accountability Personal leadership Respect

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Story: Some people who worked with me implementing the Google G Suite platform at my previous company still think it was primarily a technology initiative. However my team’s intent was to create a work renaissance and revolution. My belief is the old power controlling resources, innovation and decision making is dissolving rapidly. New power values are about collaboration, adaption, crowd wisdom, self-organization, radical democracy and transparency, impact assignments, tours of duty, a “find it, learn it, do it” mindset, and more. This workplace transformation is still not obvious to many, and when standing in the middle of a change from well-understood norms to new power forms; it can be disorienting and even frightening.

Key Point: Today, as powerfully explained in their exceptional book entitled New Power by Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms, our lab is the world. Digging into that way of thinking can be a super mind bender. One has to embrace learning and unlearning by being a technologist, futurist, transformer and hopefully humanist. The workplace, regardless of industry, is going to feel like it’s in a 8.0 earthquake and no one is immune. As Heimans and Timms state: “Too often, this tension gets lampooned as Old Codger versus Young Turk. AARP versus ADD. But there is a deeper cultural shift playing out as old and new power values do battle at work.” This blog is just an appetizer. I hope to inspire you to learn and unlearn much more about new power.

Lead Yourself Moves:

  1. Learn what it means to think and act more as a Founder: Create things, feel ownership, live with transparency, learn to navigate being all in/always on, and to drive constructive movement.
  2. Think of yourself on “tours of duty” versus a career or job.

Lead Others Moves:

  1. Embrace the concept that leaders are designers.
  2. Take the New Power quiz to see where you are on the New Power/Old Power spectrum.

New Power in Personal Leadership,

Lorne

One Millennial View: I’m very curious to learn more about this, and do harbor an appreciation for some “old power” values. For example, I believe in the credibility of a boss with experience, I think competition among co-workers is healthy and motivating, and while transparency can be awesome, forcing everyone to reveal how much they earn teeters on the line of “that’s nobody’s business but my own (my boss and HR’s), and impolite for anyone to ask.” Some other new power values are great, and I look forward to learning/unlearning more.

– Garrett

Blog 954

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis