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There’s An I In Team

When my niece Abbey was ten, when she outgrew her Lego Friends toys, she sold them on Gumtree. She kept half the proceeds and donated the other half to a charity of her choice. She set an attractive price, and usually sold a kit within an hour of advertising it. At the tender age of ten, Abbey was already learning about online trading, marketing, social responsibility, and a new model of ownership.

My 19-year-old stepdaughter, also named Abbey, is in her second year of studying Physiotherapy at university. Even though she is still a teenager, she has already had six part-time jobs: coaching gymnastics, babysitting, serving at a supermarket checkout, managing events, working in hospitality at a sports stadium, and being a sports trainer for a football team.

Both of my Abbeys are still years away from entering the full-time workforce, but you already have other Abbeys in your organisation, and others assessing whether they want to join it. They are smart, talented, innovative people who want to make a difference in the world.

Are you ready for the change?

We’re already seeing significant changes in the nature of work, and the workplace of the future will be very different from the workplace now. It will be more common to change jobs more regularly, switch careers every few years, work shorter hours, and work multiple part-time jobs.

If you’re leading a team or organisation in this new world of work, you will face different responsibilities and challenges than you do now.

The biggest change is the shift to individual power and influence. We used to say “There’s no ‘I’ in ‘Team’”, but that’s no longer true. There is an ‘I’ in ‘Team’ now, because your team members have more influence, power, and access than ever before – and will bring them to work to assist you and your organisation. If you let them.

The Best Workplace on Earth

When workplace researchers Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones asked people about what makes “the best workplace on earth”, they identified six things:

  • IDENTITY: “Let me be myself”
  • TRANSPARENCY: “Tell me what I need to know to get my job done”
  • TALENT: “Help me develop my skills”
  • PRIDE: “Give me a place where I can say I’m proud to work”
  • MEANING: “Give me work that’s meaningful, not menial”
  • SUPPORT: “Don’t get in the way with stupid rules”

This is radically different from workplaces a generation ago, where, according to Gallup, employees favoured things like superannuation, flexible holidays, and good benefits.

In this podcast episode, you’ll discover more about these six key principles for creating the best workplace on earth.

Listen To the Episode


If you would like my help, please get in touch. In my Think Sharper masterclass and executive mentoring, we examine these six factors for creating the best workplace on earth, so you can attract, reward, and (most importantly) keep the best talent.

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