Networking and collaboration are the operating principles that are defining how people find their next job, how they work and how they think about the world. Over the past many decades, the operating principles have been individualism and “do-it-yourself.”
Networks in Recruiting
Traditionally to find a new job we seek a position/title we think fits us on a job board or corporate career site, write a resume which we submit, and we wait for an answer from a recruiter. We are considered only for the specific position we applied for and rejected or followed up with based on that. As a job seeker we generally know only what the job description tells is about the position.
Networks are changing that picture already by allowing a seeker a vast amount of choice and information. A diligent job seeker can find out what other employees at that company think about the company and perhaps even the position. She can often send inquiries directly to current employees. Recruiters can scan a variety of people for skills and competencies that match needs and reach out even if the person has not applied for that specific job. Recruiters can learn much more about the candidate and scan his or her Facebook page or other social networks and gain a much clearer picture of capabilities. By sharing information and linking many people together both recruiters and job seekers gain.
Networks at Work
Think about how most of us work: we have our own title and usually there is only one of us with that title and specific set of duties. We believe in getting our own work done with our own skills and knowledge, only tapping into others when they are experts or outside the organization. We do not really like working on teams because not everyone pulls their weight and rewards are not, in our minds, fairly distributed. We learn by ourselves, even if we are in a classroom with others. Sharing equals cheating. Our lives are mostly contained within ourselves.
But take the emerging organization. In places like IDEO and Facebook people have a variety of roles they play and these roles change often as needs change. Titles may exist but are regarded as labels for HR to hang on us for legal reasons. Team work and project work are the foundational units of production. Brainstorming, sharing, collaborating, and learning from each other are normal. Rewards are awarded on our contributions and the roles we have played. Everyone is encouraged to learn from each other and to share that learning widely. Sure, there are jealousies and not all teams operate smoothly. But the net result is a more organic, natural and adaptive work place than the mechanistic ones we are accustomed to.
This networked, roled-based work model is the emerging “normal.” Our chilren will look on our “individualized” work-world with both amazement and disdain.
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Interesting article Kevin. I agree that a collaborative approach is already happening globally, you make some good points here.
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