I’ve been proud of a few steps along the way this term. I started out
taking the online certification courses earlier, so I would have more
time to devote to the weekly projects. It also sort of lit the fuse to
motivate me for the class, it was just helpful in every way. This really
set me up to succeed and limit the impending doom of not finishing
things on time. This is not to say life didn’t have other obstacles to
try to thwart my momentum, but I was able to weather it because I
prepped myself more in the two weeks before classes started than I
ever have before. I also actively choose discussion posts to respond
to that may have not received responses yet. This isn’t to say they
hadn’t received a response yet because they weren’t good, that
certainly was not the case, it was just that someone else just found
another post to respond to first. Maybe it would’ve been easier to
respond to another post after reading it, but I’d stretch myself to not
take the easy way out. Despite how busy I was during my workday (4
people in the first week of this term were let go from my department
and I was one of 2 that absorbed their work-it was a lot) I still made
sure to stick to my self-declared goals and stretch my limits and
make sure I didn’t skimp on my classwork, even when every bone in
my body wanted to just once. I hit many strides and hit some minor
bumps along the way, so I’d say it was a great learning opportunity. If
I did everything perfectly out of the gate, I probably would’ve had
learned as much as I did this term.
As for the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world of work,
I’m deeply in it. The goal for my current organization is to have my
entire company at 70% outsourced and 30% onshore. It’s a
tumultuous time to be sure. Being deep in the muddy waters of so
much transition, the class has helped in resetting my foundation. The
class is providing me some structure that I don’t have day-to-day, it’s
providing me with tools to manage the chaos I’m already facing each
day at work. It also just whispers in my ear each day, like the other
day at work. My supervisor was relaying the expectations of the
team and really homing in on certain steps she expects people to
take to complete their work. However, the very next day she
negated all she said by not Modeling the Way. She did the exact
opposite of what she was touting a mere 24 hours later and
completely discredited herself. Side note, she’s taking the same
classes and was telling me all she was getting out of it, but it might
have only been in theory, because she’s aware of what’s needed but
not in what’s happening. It’d be an interesting study for the both of
us to do a self-assessment and then review it with each other to see
where we think we are excelling but where we might not be. Having
taken this course, it opens my eyes daily, and like I said it’s the
whisper in my head, when I’m responding to coworkers there are
times where I immediately course-correct because of something I
learned this term.
Regarding the fourth industrial revolution, I think with any position
whether it be leadership or any other, it’s important to make yourself
invaluable because you don’t want technology to replace all that you
do. Diversify yourself in all that you do, in terms of responses, skill
sets, and every other facet of your job. Keep your hand in as many
pots as you can and is reasonable while maintaining the ability to
provide quality results within your current position. It’s also
important to jump on board and learn what you need to learn when it
comes to technology because there will always be someone willing to
take your place given the opportunity. This actually swings back to
the question referenced above about VUCA, learning to diversify the
work you do will help you land on your feet as VUCA workforces
become the norm.
