Ep. 89 - Fluidity & The Future of Work: Trends, Stories and Examples from Strategic Momentum
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Ep. 89 - Fluidity & The Future of Work with Connie Steele
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The notion that “change is constant” is practically our new motto here at Strategic Momentum, as we study the workforce trends shaping the future of work in the coming years. Due to COVID-19 and the numerous crises over the last year, we’re all coming to terms with the fact that we’re living in an increasingly dynamic world.
We’re shifting from singularity to multiplicity, from linearity to intersectionality, and from rigidity to flexibility. It’s no doubt the pandemic is changing things, and we have to be more fluid now than ever to get through it.
Fluidity, of course, is a significant theme in Connie’s book, Building the Business of You. But it wasn’t a new idea that just came about during the pandemic — it's a trend that Connie has observed over the last few years, especially with interviews on this very show. We’ve had guests who have demonstrated how they’ve earned their success not by sticking to one clear path but by moving through various roles and companies, even pivoting as many as 11 times, to learn and develop the skills and perspectives that lead them to where they are today.
In this episode, Connie revisits some of these interviews, dating back as far as 2018, to uncover some of the stories that supported the development of the fluidity concept in Building the Business of You.
The Various Applications of Fluidity
Trends emerged through our interviews, such as situational fluidity, mindset fluidity, location fluidity, career fluidity, and role fluidity. All of which points to one main idea: the way forward in this ever-changing world is embracing change and going where the “cheese” is. That’s how you create your career mashup and reach your true growth potential.
These diverse stories illustrate the changing landscape of the business of work. To build your dream career, you need to embrace constant adaptation, iteration, and evolution. Situational fluidity, mindset fluidity, location fluidity, career goals, and role fluidity — these are just a handful of the ways in which the world of work is becoming more dynamic.
As legendary martial artist Bruce Lee famously said, “Be water,” a reminder to be in a state of “True Flow” in your mind and body — and now your career.
As Connie writes in the book, “Fluidity is the new way at home, at work . . . everywhere. There are no boundaries between the personal and the professional.” Fluidity is now the way of the future.
Key Takeaways:
Situational or Environmental Fluidity:
The world of work and even one’s personal life is constantly in flux, and that’s never been more true than in the last few years. Uncertainty is the new certainty, so business leaders have to think differently about how to operate best. To survive COVID, employees, executives, and entire companies searched for ways to create new safety measures and new protections for employees, customers, and the public, leading to countless changes we are still only beginning to understand. Every industry, every company, and every family is reckoning with this new unpredictability. Only those willing to do what it takes to survive no matter what will thrive on the other side.
Example Guests/Episodes:
Mindset fluidity
Those who have a growth mindset are those best-positioned to succeed in a constantly changing environment. You have to be willing to test and learn to see what sticks, whether it’s developing products and thought processes or building your career. You can’t stay rigid and static. Refusing to adapt to change in our fast-paced world may result in you becoming outdated to perform your job. Being fluid means learning from failure continually. This is the speed of business and life. It’s not going to be go-big-or-go-home anymore; it’s test, measure, and try again. When you embrace this in practice, you can achieve exponential growth in opportunities and income.
Example Guests/Episodes:
Location Fluidity
Remote work was made commonplace over the first few months of the COVID pandemic. Where and who you work with are now virtually distributed, and the lack of compartmentalized spaces is blurring lines between the personal and professional. Even before the pandemic, companies started building virtual teams, and the growing gig economy and freelancer marketplace inherently create geographically dispersed teams. Location fluidity allows workers to be their most authentic selves and work from environments where they can feel the most productive.
Example Guests/Episodes:
Career Fluidity:
People’s goals and purposes are not one-dimensional. They now need to account for personal and professional ambitions. People look for breadth and depth in their careers; they want options, not prescriptions. They don’t want to be limited in any way as they don’t know what they could potentially do. So people are pivoting now more than ever to find their purposes and do what they are passionate about.
Example Guests/Episodes:
Role Fluidity:
Role fluidity is about how people shift fluidly between different roles in their lives. This could be by parallel pathing multiple things at once or frequently pivoting over a few years. In both cases, there is a need to context-switch seamlessly between roles. Think about what many parents are doing today, switching between their jobs and managing their home life with their children. And either way, people, especially Millennials, want to fulfill all of themselves and bring their whole selves to work through these mashups.
Example Guests/Episodes:
Resources:
Connect with Connie on LinkedIn
Visit the website for Building the Business of You
Order the book on Amazon
Subscribe to the Strategic Momentum podcast:
On Spotify