As we move forward the need for innovative thinking seems to be accelerating. We are dealing with such a rapid rate of change on many fronts that thinking using our familiar frameworks just may not cut it. When you look at for example,articles in the headlines outlining raising fuel prices, global conflict and from the World Watch Magazine - May/June 2006: Nutrients Declining in Food Supply, Electronics Recycling Law in US, Wal-Mart to Source Fish "Sustainable," the importance of organizations being able to make decisions in the context of understanding systems, integrating knowledge and dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity is highlighted.
Daniel Pink was the opening speaker at this year´s ISPI conference. His thoughts on right brain/left brain and what will be required in the future are certainly thought-provoking http://www.danpink.com/. He discussed the evolution that has taken place in our view of what a "good career" means, and how increased competition is impacting the skills we need now and into the future to be successful. You may be familiar with his designer toilet brush story which illustrates how more and more, we are relying on "right brain" skills in business. However, he was quick to point out not to replace the "left brain" skills as it is the use of both in synch that will help us remain competitive.
An emphasis on an integrated approach to business and business challenges is the foundation of the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management´s focus on Integrative Thinking. Building upon Elliot Eisner´s http://ed.stanford.edu/suse/faculty/displayRecord.php?suid=eisner work highlighting the importance of an education both in the arts and in the more typical business disciplines, the focus on Integrative Thinking encourages the use of both sides of the brain in an integrated approach. The side of the brain which houses more of our "synthesizing" abilities helps us understand relationships and find new and different solutions. As so well stated by Hilary Austen in the article "The Race for Effectiveness, Is It Effective?" in the Fall 2003 Rotman Management Magazine, these capabilities are ".....critical to acting with an alternative view of effectiveness, where common standards, measures and feedback don´t apply." An interesting point.
So what does this imply for performance management? As we strive to build consistency and usefulness into our processes, what needs to be considered? If we consider the reasons behind the focus on Integrative Thinking at the Rotman School of Management, does it help guide our performance management decisions?
Rotman has adopted a focus on Integrative Thinking in order to help students to:
"1) Develop the cognitive skills suited to the new dynamics they will be working with, and
2) Find their own internal sources of direction and motivation to replace the dependence on the external."
The Race for Effectiveness, Is It Effective? Fall 2003 Rotman Management Magazine, pg 21
Another publication of interest is the "Manifesto For The New Agile Workplace" by Tony DiRomualdo and Jonathan Winter www.cimanifesto.com. The authors discuss ideas that challenge our traditional views of the workplace. Interestingly, they suggest we "Redefine Talent Management -it´s not about retention of people, but maintaining access to skills." They go on to discuss the conditions they think will allow workplaces, workforces and individuals to be agile. Agility is defined as "....dynamic enterprising response to market, customer or business demands." Some of these that relate to our discussion include: "define work in projects, not weeks or years; design learning into work and work should be defined in roles that play to people´s strengths."
These can translate into action steps taken when designing our performance management processes. We must first, however, find the right balance between specifying performance expectations/goals and objectives and allowing for innovation.
What steps are you building into your current performance management processes to ensure future competitiveness?
