10 ideas I’m excited to explore in 2019
Someone asked me what I thought the big ideas of 2019 would be and I loved the question, but was also intimidated by the ask. What do I know about it? I decided to focus less on the general and more on the specific. What am I personally excited about learning more and exploring in 2019? I have been mulling it for a bit and landed on the notion that for me 2019 is about setting the foundation for the future of work.
Translating Agile for business side teams. Agile is not new, but it’s certainly a process which supports delivering value in technology. For people not actively developing software, what principles and processes can be harnessed in everyday team work?
Creating psychological safety during transformation. Amy Edmondson just published a new book “The Fearless Organization” which I can’t wait to dig into and learn from. I have no doubt I will have much more to explore thanks to her insights!
Coaching for high team performance. I have lead high performing teams. I have been a key contributor on high performing teams. But coaching them is a whole other bunch of bananas. This is an area I'm excited to jump into and share my lessons.
Frontier technology in your everyday life (that you may not realize is there). I think we often think of VR, AI, chat bots, and other far out / way cool tech as 5-10 years out. But the reality is it’s actually imbedded in large and small experiences we have everyday. I think it will be fun and enlightening (and dare I say eye opening) to uncover and unpack it.
Embracing diversity in your life and work. We all want a humane, ethical today and future of work, where everyone can thrive and have a chance to take part in fulfilling work. To me this is yet another big reason to embrace diversity.
Celebrating women and multicultural leaders. Shining a spotlight on new voices with fresh ideas is another idea I love to keep exploring. So many innovative and inspiring leaders out there to learn from!
Pursuing a mindset of empathy with positive energy. The fact of the matter is while technology can process data fast and deliver personalization, we will have a better work experience not when colleagues lean into trying to become machines, but by being more human and humane.
Supporting leaders to break out of their bubbles. Senior managers are busy people. And often triple booked and running from 1 thing to the next. The challenge is staying efficient while staying connected to the pulse (aka the everyday people who are at the heart of the organization).
Building resilience through micro habits. This is an Agile principle distilled. How can you break big goals into small actions? Over time those actions add up. The key is how to turn them into habits?
Incorporating continuous learning into all areas of your life. We schedule time for the gym or meetings. What if you also scheduled time to invest in your personal and professional development every single day? What would that look like?
I am excited to dig into these 10 topics and beyond as they are foundational to the future of work. This means a couple things to me. In my professional life, how am I helping to support and drive transformation? And in my personal and professional life, what key traits and skills are important for people to continuously upskill and adapt to the ever changing demands on us? How can I not only help myself, my leaders and my colleagues, but also my friends and kids build these muscles? Looking forward to 2019!
