There isn’t anything more crucial for your career than integrating innovation into your daily work experience.
Research from Burnt Glass Technologies slams this home with recent research showing approximately 12 percent of job openings today, and projected to grow over 21 percent the next 10 years will be hybrid positions…. More than double the rate of jobs overall!These hybrid jobs require a combination of the creative right brain as well as left brain technical skills. And they’re less at risk to the disruption coming where PwC projects nearly 40 percent of jobs in the U.S. may be vulnerable to replacement by robots in the next fifteen years
.Already we see a slew of routine, repetitive jobs eliminated by technology and AI.But before you get too nervous about your future employment,
let’s examine how innovative you already are.
Your last week:
What percentage of your week did you expend on “fire-fighting,” “get it done” activities? What percentage of the week did you spend on innovative, originating thinking that didn’t have a current timeline attached to the project?Most of my clients answer: “100 percent was deadline driven.”If your intention is to be evaluated by your boss as a “work-a-bee” rather than a “high potential employee,” keep on doing the same old things in the same old way. But I don’t think that’s how you envision your future.So, let’s turn your future around.
Are You Imprisoning Yourself In Your Job Description? Recollect, a peer you’ve worked alongside in the past; someone recognized as doing a superb job; and then, they were promoted or left the company.Now, think of that newcomer who assumed the same responsibilities; and they too were stellar.“Did the job look the same under both executives?”I bet the answer is an emphatic, “No!”Everyone brings their particular brand of giftedness, skills, and point of view to the job. There are more expansion opportunities for more of you and your innovative mind to show up than you credit.
Are You Thinking R.E.D.? As projects and assignments cross your desk, reflect on:“What can I
Reduce,
Eliminate and/or
Delegate that won’t harm the outcome?”As you assess your job with new eyes, you open pockets of time on your calendar.
Are You Working Within Your “Golden Touch?” Many employees—mainly, managers—spend much of their time on tasks well below their expertise. Then, wonder why they’re collapsing under the sheer weight of their workload.Related:
Turning Your Workforce Into Profit Scrutinize the assignments crossing your desk, asking yourself:
“Does it involve my “Golden Touch” (A combination of what your company hired you to do, your expertise, your strengths, and your passion.) Does this assignment expand someone else’s proficiencies? Does it comprise one of my subordinates or peer’s interests?You unlock time on your schedule when you
grow yourself and others through mentoring and delegating. Now, you’ve freed your calendar a bit to innovate in ways that will enhance the organization. And you have ideas!Your improvements along the way will expand your continued relevance and career growth. And because you’re carving out time to think in a frame of reference your peers are not; your organization is going to be catching glimpses of their future in you!
