We all know that the world of work is changing, which means that the world of talent development is changing, too. Over the past week I’ve been reading the new Vistage report, “The Future of Work” (PDF) and some older reports, including “Rand Research Brief: The Future at Work Trends and Implications” (PDF), and Fast Company’s “The Future of Work.”
They differ on the details, but they all describe a world where some things will be radically different than the world where most of us grew up. Here are some of the things I’ve found in several reputable reports and the talent development questions they raise.
More work will be done out of sight. How will performance management need to change to accommodate supervision that isn’t line-of-sight? What does that mean for talent development?
There will be more contract workers and freelancers in the production mix. Should talent development include those people who aren’t employees?
Contract workers, freelancers, and some employees will work for more than one company. They will live in households where all the adults work and, increasingly, where they share in the “home” duties. How will we prepare leaders for work that is more about marshalling resources than commanding a department?
In the business world of the future, we will need to be aware of multiple career patterns. How will talent development and compensation change to accommodate multiple kinds of careers?
Deloitte says that “From Ladder to Lattice: The Shift is On” and Susan Finerty blogs every week about the matrix, because, as she says, “Even if you’re not in a ‘matrix’ organization you’re probably working in a matrix.” How will talent development need to change to account for changes in organizational structure?
There are no quick, easy, or final answers to these questions, but we need to think about them because now they’re all part of the romance of talent development.
