Manage Like There Will Be A Tomorrow

This is the second part in a four-part series designed to give managers and leaders constructive insights to navigate these difficult times. Come back to the blog each Monday for future installments in the series, as well as archives of stimulating content. As always, if the writing supports and inspires you – please share it with friends and colleagues.

Part one challenged you to make an important attitude shift, which all managers and leaders must make in order to survive and thrive in the current business and economic downturn. Part two will describe the ways in which managers and leaders can inspire employees to work differently within this period of rapid change and intense competition.

Part Two of Four:

The intense competitive pressures and the never-ending pursuit of a competitive edge are forcing today’s workforce to be leaner and more agile, more focused on identifying brand value from the customer perspective, and more focused on developing dynamic and innovative strategic plans. These changes require workers to become their company’s best asset as they continually learn and perform as a way of adapting to the only constant in today’s dynamic organizational environment – change.

In my forthcoming book, Breaking Barriers: A Survival Guide to Work in the 21st Century, I describe the urgent need for continuous workplace learning and performance. Managers, leaders and organizations that understand and promote continuous workplace learning and performance have the best chance at turning the current economic downturn into an opportunity for improved performance and long-term success. I define workplace learning and performance as the consistent acquisition and application of knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and abilities to successfully fulfill specific job functions that are consistent with the organization’s desired business outcomes.

Unlike the more static work of the past where roles and responsibilities are fixed over time – today’s work is constantly changing and requires continuous development of knowledge, skills and abilities that fulfill our specific job functions and add increasing value to the overall organizational goals. Continuous learning and performance is therefore a matter of survival for employees who must remain relevant to their organizations. For managers and leaders, inspiring continuous learning and performance in your workforce offers potentially the greatest competitive advantage.

At a practical level, this means that managers and leaders should encourage team members to invent and own their work; all employees to be self-initiating, self-correcting, and self evaluating; encourage individuals and teams to be guided by their own visions of work; and empower workers to take responsibility for what happens both internally and externally within the organization. In essence, it is your job to unleash the innovative force of your human capital. In reality, as fiscal capital is in demand, we must rely on the human capital of today’s organization, which is the knowledge worker who understands the clear connection between continuous learning and performance.

Digging a bit deeper, what outcomes can managers and leaders expect when they support the shift to continuous workplace learning and performance? The following characteristics are often developed throughout the workforce as learning and performance advance:

• Clear goals and expectations
• Greater internal motivation.
• Quicker response to feedback.
• Greater resilience in the face of adversity.
• Ability to anticipate success, despite obstacles.
• Confident and assertive communication of ideas.
• Willingness to embrace ambiguity and change.

These are just some of the benefits that continuous learning and performance bring. Of course, there are many obstacles to continuous learning and performance that make it difficult to truly turn our employees into our greatest assets. When obstacles to learning and performance are present for employees, they can negatively impact productivity and hinder overall organizational success. Progress and positive development occur for individuals and organizations when employers remove barriers to performance.

Identifying some of the most common barriers is the subject of part three of this series. Check back next week for the new post!