K.E.E.N. skills | The Fourth Revolution Blog

Emotional work: where the value lies today

Today, in the Fourth Revolution, what is the value chain of human activities like?

At the bottom is manual work. That’s worth almost nothing, because anybody can do it.

Above that is intellectual work, in the sense of processing work (IQ). In the Industrial Age that was the tip of the value chain, because processing capability was scarce. Those who were very good at it were highly paid and regarded. The problem is that now, we have a lot of processing capability available in the form of computers and the like. Its value has melted away.

So what’s next?

Emotional work. Today, it is where the value lies. It is what leaders get paid to do. It is both personal internal emotional work, and exceptional inter-personal work. And that’s the basis of soft power. Power today does not lie in hard facts and logic. Power lies in the soft issues of emotions.

Scary, maybe, because our mindset is geared toward the value of intellectual work. But so real. How much emotional work do you think you are doing? Do more, that’s where the value is. That’s where the difference is. That’s what will make you successful.

Soft Power Leadership: what about a book?

What do you think about a book on “Soft Power Leadership?”

Following my previous blog, I’ve been thinking about this concept for a while and I believe it could be my next book.

It is so obvious that what distinguishes successful leaders today lies in soft power. And while the new form of leadership I describe in the book, “mutual learning leadership” is still very typical of the Fourth Revolution, “soft power” seems to be a great concept to describe what makes specific individuals remarkable. And incredibly successful.

Because it is a mix of personal and inter-personal mastery, quiet, soft power is really a great way to describe those personalities and leadership styles.

What do you think of the idea? You contribution and reaction (positive or negative) is welcome!

Soft power – the key to leadership in the Collaborative Age

“Soft power” is a concept which was invented by Joseph Nye in 1990 in the context of international relations.

Here is the definition of “soft power” by Joseph Nye – a definition given in a 2004 article of the Harvard Business Review:

To lead is to help a group define and achieve a common purpose. There are various types and levels of leadership, but all have in common a relationship with followers. Thus leadership and power are inextricably intertwined. I will argue below that many leadership skills such as creating a vision, communicating it, attracting and choosing able people, delegating, and forming coalitions depend upon what I call soft power.

What is astounding is that this definition applies equally to leadership in an organization and to leadership in the world.

For me, effective leadership beyond the Fourth Revolution is grounded in soft power. What do you think?

Be consistent with what you want to be

I am always amazed at how people sometimes act inconsistently with what they want to be. And thus, with what they are – deep within. That is particularly visible in my practice of coaching.

I do also fall into this trap too often. And I regret when that happens.

Because I know that it is only by being consistent with what I want to be, that I’ll become what I want to be. But my behavior is not always consistent!

So, what can we do? Probably the best solution is to keep in mind what we want to be, what is our goal and purpose, and repeat it inside us over and over again like a mantra throughout the day.

Repeat it, in particular when times are tough and stressful and we tend to come back to our old natural self.

But don’t say it because if your behavior is inconsistent with what you say, that’s even worse!

The day where somebody will tell you that he or she feels like you really are like what you want to be, you’ll know you are on the right way.

When do you start monitoring how consistent you are with what you want to be? What do you do to improve this consistency?

How to measure the degree of bureaucracy of your organization

How bureaucratic is your organization?

Stack of procedures — bureaucracy at work

Here is the ultimate test.

It’s fairly simple.

It’s based on the fact that bureaucracy is the triumph of the means over the end.

So, take the objectives of your organizations, of your department, or your personal objectives in the organization. What proportion of these objectives are about producing means, for keeping busy (for example, write a policy about… write 3 procedures about… produce one press release every so and so…)

Conversely, what proportion is about real results that matter to other people (clients, stakeholders). Like: increase satisfaction level by so many %, deliver under 3 days…

The proportion of objectives related to means is a good measure of how bureaucratic your organization is. Experience shows that it is generally fairly consistent across the organization, except maybe at the top.

Move! Make sure most of your own objectives are result-driven and that you’re left the choice of the means. And you know what? It’s much more fun!

Talent is overrated

I just read a great book: Talent is overrated, by Geoff Colvin.

It explains where the greatest achievers find the source of their talent. And that’s not from some innate capability or just sheer hard work.

Geoff Colvin identifies the concept of deliberate practice as the key to sustained excellence. Deliberate practice is hard work, because it is still required to go through thousand of hours of practice. But it is more than that:

deliberate practice follows a program specifically designed to improve performance by working on what is difficult
deliberate practice is repeated a lot
feedback on the results is continuously available
it is demanding mentally and is not much fun

So it is not just the hours of practice that count. It is also how practice is focused on improvement, it requires feedback to be constantly available. It generally requires somebody else to design the practice program and give the feedback.

coaching in action — Even great sportspeople need a coach for deliberate practice

It is quite straightforward to understand this in the field of sports. What about the field of leadership in an organization? How often do you stretch yourself, repeat difficult actions, and do you get continuous feedback? Do you have a coach to design and force you through the process?

Yet without these elements, excellence will be impossible to reach.

Think about it. Design a deliberate practice program to become the best in what you want to do. That’s worth it.

How to receive feedback the right way

Giving feedback is easy.

Giving feedback the right way, with the right tone so that it is not felt as an aggression and leads to constructive action is difficult.

Receiving feedback is very difficult emotionally.

So, make it simple. Look at the person who did the feedback in the eye, and say: “Thank you”. Smile (in particular if that was a harsh one). Period. Don’t justify yourself or be inconsiderate in promising something you’ll never do. Just say thank you. Smile.

That’s enough.

That’s very difficult.

That’s so important.

Because by doing that you’ll encourage further feedback. And thus improve your performance much quicker.

How to give feedback the right way

A key process for giving feedback I learnt during my coaching classes. Simple, and so powerful. I use it all the time I want to give feedback.

ask permission to give feedback, and obtain it (get a Yes)
state your positive intent (I want to give you the feedback because I believe it impedes your growth, success, etc – and I care about you)
deliver your feedback along the BOOST guidelines (Balanced, Observed, Owned, Specific, Timely) (make sure it is owned by you by using “I” – it is just your view)
propose an improvement path (if you can’t propose a better solution, don’t feedback!)
stop, shut up and listen actively to the person, let the silence be for a while if needed, be active and present.
propose support if the person states that yes, he/she would like to improve.

Try it. You’ll see, it can get the most difficult feedback across nicely. Try it today.

The importance of feedback for improvement

It is basic, but so often neglected.
Practice can only improve performance if feedback is provided.
If the right feedback is provided in the right way, it can even greatly accelerate the learning curve towards outstanding, exceptional performance.

Alas, the occasions to benefit from feedback on our practices of daily life are so few. And when we get feedback it is often delivered in such a manner that we dismiss it (remember the last time someone honked you on the road – that was feedback!).

The key to improving your performance as quickly as possible is hence, to setup an environment where feedback can be provided to you immediately, in a way that encourages you to improve. It is the role of the trainer or coach. We need to make it much more systematic. We need to encourage candid feedback at home and in the workplace. To do that, there are 3 conditions
– demonstrate willingness to give and receive feedback
– use a secure process for delivering feedback the right way
– respond to feedback appropriately to encourage people to give other feedback later.

Used properly, this will create a virtuous circle. When do you start?

What’s a resume for?

The resume is an outdated concept.

It is at most, just one way to communicate one’s brand. Today it is just one way amongst many others.

Prospective employers will scrutinize your LinkedIn, Facebook and other Internet-based information. They will google you. The way you communicate your brand overall is more important than your resume.

But then, why do you want to be in a situation where employers scrutinize you? Where you put your bets in how the prospective employer slept last night?

You should already have marketed yourself in your social and professional network, so that they say: I have this problem, get me this guy, I know he knows what to do.

And then nobody should ask you for your resume.

That’s it: you’ll know you are successful in your personal branding when nobody will ask you for your resume any more.

Get out of the personal commodity trap

In the Industrial Age, people were a commodity. They had a tag given by their diploma, were part of a category and were just inter-changeable.
That started changing with the emergence of the Knowledge Worker, one of the precursors of the Fourth Revolution. Still there were broad categories of Knowledge Workers.

Beyond the Fourth Revolution, the K.E.E.N will absolutely need to avoid becoming a commodity.

As the excellent illustration says – make sure not a lot of ordinary people understand what you are doing. Invent a fancy job title, an unexpected tag line to describe what you are doing.

Develop a unique personal brand. And market yourself.

Commodities are easily replaced. Commodities’ price gets down with competition from low cost countries.

Above all, don’t stay a commodity. Get out of the commodity trap. Start now to build your identity, your brand, and to market yourself.

The dawn of the World Dream

After the Fourth Revolution, the World Dream will be the dream of billions of individuals.

It will replace the American Dream.

What will be the World Dream?

First, it will state that whatever your origin, color, ethnicity, and wherever you live, you have a chance to be successful. You have a chance to become part of the leadership of the Collaborative Age. And this apply to the entire World, thanks to cheap, long distance interactive communication. This is a revolution for 80% of Humankind!

Second, what will make you successful is not what made you successful in the Industrial Age. In the Industrial Age, compliance, hard work, career, diploma, were crucial. What is important in the Collaborative Age is to develop a unique personal brand, to get noticed on the virtual collaborative universe, to produce a unique contribution to the world, to connect emotionally with many individuals.

Third, the outcome of the World Dream will not only be the materialistic comfort of home – although a minimum satisfaction of basic material needs is still crucial. It will be the feeling to have contributed usefully to the life of a number of other people, to have created a new way of looking at the world, of having opened the eye of a community on a particular issue. Instead of discretion it will be, a strong public presence.

Are we ready to dream the World Dream? Many young people in developing and emerging countries already dream it. Let’s joint them. And act accordingly.

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