The Future of Work – The Great Unveiling

Tom GibbonsComplexity, Future of Work, Leadership, Organization Development, Uncertainty2 Comments

As I have interacted with people over the past months, one consistent topic tends to emerge; the phenomena of people leaving their current jobs.  Labeled as the ‘great resignation’ it seems almost every organization has felt the impact. The great resignation is a result, a consequence of something, it is not just randomly happening.  What that something can be described … Read More

A Caution in the Search for Character

Tom GibbonsChange, Leadership, Learning, Organization Development, Social ConstructionLeave a Comment

This post was originally published in the TMS Learning Exchange.  It’s a bit longer than our normal posts…. In the aftermath of the 2008 semi collapse of investment capitalism and the ensuing and continuing global recession there is a growing trend calling on the need for ‘more character’ from those who we see as leaders in our organizations.  Business schools … Read More

Uncertainty and Shrinking Conversations

Tom GibbonsChange, Leadership, Organization Development, UncertaintyLeave a Comment

In March 2012 we wrote the post Motivation in an Environment of Uncertainty .  We looked at the nature of organizational conversations during uncertain times and how those conversations could sustain the choices people make to be motivated.  Unfortunately quite often the opposite happens in organizations.  During uncertain times conversations begin to shrink, both in quantity and quality. We are … Read More

Motivation in an Environment of Uncertainty

Tom GibbonsChange, Leadership, Uncertainty1 Comment

Imagine you are considering a new job.  One of the key performance objectives of the job is to motivate the staff that will be working for you.  You are told that there is no money in the budget for bonuses and in fact some salary reduction will likely take place.  There is a chance of downsizing and it is unclear … Read More

More Interaction, More Change

Tom GibbonsChange, Complexity, Leadership, Organization DevelopmentLeave a Comment

Most current perspectives on the future of organizations will begin with comments on the accelerating pace of change.  The consequential generation of ideas for dealing with these phenomena focuses on leadership, management, technology, character, relationship and just about any other topic of interest. I think it is very important to make sure we scratch hard at the surface of these ideas and … Read More