Future of Work Briefs

Decision makers, leaders, data scientists, and managers often must make quick assessments about whether they can trust a set of data, whether they can include it in an analysis, or whether they need it to take a new direction. While there are thousands of variants, their basic question is, “Do I have a data quality problem?”

An estimated 21% of carbon emissions in the United States are attributable to companies, and yet to date there is scant research on how to make firm operations more efficient in terms of reducing pollution. However, the numbers suggest that getting employees to change their behavior could significantly impact climate change.

A CEO we’ve worked with – let’s call him “Gary” – prides himself on being a collaborative leader who invests in consensus and builds relationships. Gary cares deeply about his employees and is eager to deliver. When he was first hired a couple of years ago, the board was deeply impressed by Gary’s values, trustworthy demeanor, and his collaborative approach. Unfortunately, by the time we met Gary, his habits as a “nice CEO” were about to cost him his job.

Some say our words and related acts must not be limited to that which is “politically correct.” The greater risk is that our unfiltered words and acts can inflict widespread reactive rage, nonproductive divisiveness, mistrust and public harm. We’re seeing that almost every day. I say it’s time for us to guard our words and acts to be “humanely correct.”

Here’s a tip as you put together a leadership development plan – find a few people to sit on your own personal Board of Directors. What is this group going to do? They’re going to help you plan, execute, and assess your development as a leader. You’re going to brief them on your plans, and ask for their advice and suggestions.

If you want your team to be effective, you need meeting ground rules — and you need agreement about how to use them. Many teams that have ground rules don’t regularly use them. But having rules in place that you consistently enforce can significantly improve how your team solves problems and makes decisions.

Much of the failure of long-term strategizing arises not from its difficulty but from confusion about how to do it. When hard strategic choices loom, executives ask their experts what the future will look like. The experts — middle management, analysts, engineers, consultants — aren’t asked to provide a comprehensive view of possible futures and their probability of occurring. They’re asked for a description of a single future or several possible futures for consideration.