No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main. . . any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.
John Donne, Meditation XVII
English clergyman & poet (1572 – 1631)
As John Donne knew over 400 years ago we live interconnected lives that influence others and are influenced by others. It is interesting that in times of turmoil, war and recession people see the deep value of working together. World War II produced camaraderie and teamwork that boosted production and kept spirits up during a dark time in both England and the United States. This recession has renewed the value of family, shown that making money is never core to happiness, and rejuvenated charitable and social organizations.
Awareness of the power of cooperation to get things done is also filtering into the workplace. The hot topic in leadership development is collaborative leadership. Strategic partnerships have grown by necessity out of the recession and I think most business people are seeing the economic benefits of being more closely connected to customers, suppliers, vendors, consultants and employees. Virtual teams and teamwork are the subject of many corporate meetings and events. Successful, innovative firms such as IDEO have mastered skills in teamwork and joint design.
On this coming Sunday we will kickoff our 5th Future of Talent Retreat in Asilomar, California. Participants from companies spanning the globe will come together for almost three days of learning and networking.
Our theme this year is Collaboration and Human Interdependence. Rather than being solely focused on competition, more business people are trying collaborative arrangements. They are experimenting with outsourcing, leasing employees, hiring contract workers, using more consultants and with breaking work into projects that interdependent teams work on.
This is new to most corporations where narrowly defined job responsibilities and rigid hierarchies are the norm. Employees are being asked to expand and to share both their responsibilities and their work. They are put into virtual as well as face-to-face environments and are expected to continue performing at the same or even higher levels. Outcomes are being co-produced and credit shared across countries and teams. And all of these new arrangements are raising issues that are both cultural and personal. Where is all this heading? Is virtual collaboration a key new skill that is vital for corporate success? We’ll explore these issues as well as take a look at how we may organize our work and how we will learn over the next 3-5 years.
We are holding the Retreat on the shores of the Pacific Ocean where marine life has worked out how to survive for eons. We will focus on learning from nature and see if our biologist friends can help us understand how varied species have learned to cooperate, share and build working communities.
Look for updates here and at www.futureoftalent.org as well as for a continuation of the conversation.
