A spiritual journey with a backpack – the fall of the chief digital officer – climbing mountains – 3 paths for gig mindsetters
A spiritual journey with a backpack
Leading from the heart
In my recent podcast episode I talk with Marie Reig Florensa whom I met when I gave the graduation speech for the executive MBA at the Berlin school of Creative Leadership. Marie was valedictorian.
Points covered in our conversation:
Team building starts with your presence, your intentions.
We live in a society driven by fear, and lack of clarity gives way to fear.
Two ways to go against the status quo: the low and the high.
We all need to open our field of possibilities, inside and outside ourselves and our organizations.
The speed of change and innovation puts us into narrow funnels where we think, erroneously, that we are moving forward.
Seeing relationships, emotions, experiences, energies, thoughts, helps understand how much easier it is to listen to the other and respect the other.
Listen to our conversation here.
The Rise and Fall of the Chief Digital Officer
In 2015 I wrote about the new (at the time) role of CDO, and talked about it in a workshop in Holland at a conference. My talk stirred up a lot of reactions, both surprise and strong disagreement.
I wondered out loud: How will the CDO role interact with traditional management roles over time? Which would disappear? Merge? Which would fundamentally change?
As I said then:
“The few organizations that have a true CDO report that the duties cover all or some of the following areas: customer relations, marketing, internal communication, external communication, knowledge management, HR, information management and IT.
“The CDO role therefore touches on responsibilities that are part of the scope of other functions and heads of the various functional services.
“This becomes political in most organizations. Who is infringing on whose territory?
The true role of the CDO turned out to be bringing change. Once the movement to digital started, the dedicated CDO role no longer made sense.
That’s where we are now. Six years later, in 2021 leading into 2022, I see that the mission of the CDO – bringing digital into action in the enterprise – is now part of everyone’s work. The CDO is no longer the pivot point.
More to read
Interesting article written in September 2018 The Rise and role of the Chief Digital Officer by Rowan Gibson on the Leadership Network site. https://theleadershipnetwork.com/article/the-rise-and-role-of-the-chief-digital-officer
What I’ve read recently
Mountains are mysterious places, where legends have their origin, and where people who are not prepared do not survive. They symbolize accomplishments as illustrated by climbers of the world’s highest peaks. They also represent violence.
I had heard about the first book, then came across the second by accident in the search results. I bought and loved both. Not easy reading. But engrossing and eye-opening.
No Friends but the Mountains: Dispatches from the World's Violent Highlands
by Judith Matloff
In the introduction we learn that “mountains cover one-fourth of the earth’s surface and account for only 10 percent of its population. Yet they host a strikingly disproportionate share of its clashes. A 1999 United Nations report revealed that twenty-three of the twenty-seven major armed conflicts in the world were being fought in mountain areas, and that ratio remains roughly true today.” Matloff decides to find out why this is so. (Link to Goodreads)
No Friend but the Mountain: The True Story of an Illegally Imprisoned Refugee
Written in Farsi by a young Kurdish poet, Behrouz Boochani, an illegally imprisoned refugee, the book came about through thousands of text messages thumbed on a phone and smuggled out of Manus Island. It is hard reading but well worth it. The book is considered to be “a literary triumph” and one of the best published in 2018 in Australia. (Link to Goodreads)
Three paths for gig mindsetters
Part of your personal risk management strategy is to think about and prepare for alternatives in your worklife. The Gig Mindset Advantage looks into three paths with examples, and different approaches for you to consider in Part 7 “Owning Your Personal Strategy”.
The advocate path: The hardest and riskiest
You are full of energy and want to bring change. You are willing to take the necessary risks that you may not succeed in bringing change. You may succeed or be ignored. Sidelined. Demoted. But you decide it is worth it.
The compromise path: A negotiation with yourself
You feel discouraged, but do not feel you can leave. You may find that the gap between you and your expected behaviors is worth living because you need your job for financial security, healthcare or other reasons. Look again at the possibilities inside your organization. Are the barriers real? Or are they in your mind?
The exit path: Tough yet potentially the most fulfilling
You’ve decided it is time to go. First, understand your profile. Are you a gig mindsetter with a range of experience in different fields? Or are you one who has climbed the corporate ladder, and finally decided to get off? Your answer to the question will determine your next steps.
Which path did you take? Or which one are you considering? Drop me a note if you would like to share.
Support my work by reading The Gig Mindset Advantage
I retired from front line advising 3 years ago, and now focus on my research. If you would like to support my research, consider buying a copy of my book. You will find it useful for your work, whether you are an independent worker or inside an organization.
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See you in 2022. Have a good December.
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