The future workforce

Here is a recent story that I have come to know: a group of teenagers emerged through Internet connections. They found each other on social platforms and revealed common interests. Soon, their social media chat turned into actions. These teens have been churning out products together for some time now. There is no defined group structure among them. In fact, projects are fluid, ideas come suddenly and are acted upon quickly, their collective mind seeks and finds solutions to problems as they arise. People are free to join or leave the projects at any time.

Can other self-guided associations develop and reach professional realization? Can these groups come up with their “big picture” and work all the way to achieve the desired goals? Indeed, this model has worked many times, and has yielded successful and profitable companies. Think of the many tech start-ups that either developed into large companies or were acquired by giant corporations for a hefty pad of money.
 
Why does it work?
There is no administration to obstruct the progress and distract the working. Inept leadership can inflict destruction beyond recovery. Below are the well known versions of the leader’s modus operandi:

You can imagine that versions 1, 2 and 4 are not achieving great (or any) results. However, do not underestimate the inertia of “teams”. In some cases, most team members gratefully accept the leaders of type 1, 2 and 4.

1. A leader, who dictates both goal and means, is an OCD case and s/he completely devalues and squanders the intellectual and motivational power of the team.

2. A leader, who does not present any goal or “big picture” but monitors on every-day basis the subordinates’ actions, is an efficiency-killer and will not achieve too much in a long run. The team feels as if it is acting blindfolded.

4. A leader, who does not demonstrate any effort, has no ideas, no goals, no means, is someone who just collects a salary.

3. A true leader sketches the "big picture” and develops it further with the team. A true leader does not dictate how the goals will be achieved.
 

More advantages of the fluid groups

Out-of the box-ideas. In a fluid group, as the teenage group described above, when ideas emerge from the group, there is a spontaneous co-development process and enhancement of the idea. Almost everyone shares the ownership of the idea. There is no need of a well-established leader, who needs to convince the team in the merits of the idea. The idea emerges and develops organically. The team decides on the implementation path.
 
There is no red tape to shut down the creative process with petty details, mind-boggling loops, and useless meetings dictated by higher authorities and interests. We are all slaves to the red tape, especially if we are not self-employed.
 
Peer-to-peer teaching is most effective. Harvard knows it, now you know it. Teams must evolve by acquiring new information and skills. Information in some fields doubles within hours or days. To stay current, we need to run along with the informational flow. Some jobs and positions require “professional development” from their employees. This development is frequently based upon meetings and workshops, with an instructor in front of a group of bored adults. This is an inefficient model compared to what takes place in the fluid group described above. In the self-organized group of peers, there is a core of group members, but other members voluntarily come and go. This flow enriches the expertise of the team. The members are also all peers. They all share information as part of their usual behavior and daily communications. Learning from each other happens organically.

Failure happens frequently and is expected. In a rigid institution, failure is feared, it raises red flags and stress. And yet, there is not too much to lose when you do not have too much to begin with. Therefore, in a fluid group of teenagers with minuscule bank accounts, not too much could be lost. The stakes are much higher in our institutions and at later stages of life.
 
No one is afraid of or deterred by criticism. Typically, there is no well-established hierarchy at the beginning of any self-assembled, fluid group. There is mostly comradeship. In this mode of operation, one gives advise/tip/help, not criticism.
 
Size of the team is self-controlled. It is known that the number of performance problems increases exponentially with the size of the team. The recommended team size is four to 12. Beyond this number, cliques develop.

Are these principles applied in your work teams?

The American dream: code blue

America, its lifestyle and opportunities have been the dream for many.

America became my own salvation when the communist bloc in Eastern Europe began to fall apart, and there were no jobs, food was scarce, and electricity was sporadic. At that time, I had a newly-minted MS degree, very little English and no prospects for work. So, I studied English on my own, took the required standardized tests (for the first time in my life) and applied to PhD programs in the U.S.

I was lucky - I was accepted in one out of the three universities I applied to. I petitioned to waive my application fee; I hardly had the money to cover the fees for the standardized tests. My parents borrowed money for my airfare and for my first month of expenses in the U.S. After the first month, I had to support myself with my stipend for the work I did in the graduate school.

Looking back, I believe that America saved me from the prematurely aged, toothless and nervous wreck I could have become in my own country. The reality in a disintegrating socialist country killed many. It killed my best friend. Sometimes I doubt that I would have survived, if I had stayed home.

America gave me a PhD degree, job, and family. America gave me opportunities and hopes.

However, would America give the same to my child? What does America offer to the young generation today?

Today, college is a barrier that everyone needs to jump over, but once on the other side, there are not too many opportunities to apply the college degree to. Instead, the graduates are staring at an ugly debt.

And even when one finds a job, how many college-degree jobs are stable today? I think, none. Even my present job is about to expire within the next few years, as academia contracts into a quasi-online model that employs adjuncts, teaching assistants and an exorbitant number of administrators. This would be the end of my career as a PhD graduate.

When I look back at my parents’ trajectory, I perceive that their stories could have been the most extreme example of the American dream. The irony is that they grew up and lived in a socialist country, not in the U.S.

My father was born and raised in a remote, small village in the middle of nowhere. I wanted to visit the place a few years ago, and I was told that there were only a few houses left. His parents may or may have not attended elementary school. After leaving the village and joining the workforce at age of 14, my father survived on very little until the political changes in the country pulled him from the bottom and gave him opportunities. The socialist system helped him finish high school and vocational school, and eventually, brought him into a military academy in the USSR. My father became a skillful and knowledgeable electrical engineer, he rose to the rank of colonel and was given a high-responsibility position in the Ministry of Defense. He was considered for a general and a leader of a military factory next. However, by that time the stress and speed of rising took their toll. My father gave in to a psychosis-ridden burnout and was unable to function at his high-ranked position.

Despite this ending, my father’s story is this of tremendous success – his journey was this from a speck of a village, through numerous towns and jobs, and finally to the capital. He put lots of effort, work, diligence and determination on this path. But he was also helped by the system. If my father was to go to a grad school in the U.S. today, he would not have had a chance! You see, candidates like him are considered an unacceptable risk for the schools. Candidates like him are not offered any scholarships. Back then – more than 50 years ago, my father paid not a single penny for his education. The education in the socialist countries was free.

My mom was raised in a family that was more stable financially; however, her parents also did not have too much of a formal education. My mom graduated from a specialized college to become a highly accomplished teacher in science. Again, the education was free.

Despite their education, my parents received the standard socialist salaries – at that time everyone was receiving more or less the same amount of money for being a medical doctor, colonel, teacher, or janitor. My mom and dad never got a penny from their own parents; however, they were able to establish a home and raise two children. Both my brother and I received free education and obtained masters’ degrees. At the time of graduation, we did not have a penny of debt.

Of course, whereas the socialist system was good and helpful to some, to others, the same system turned out to be cruel and unforgiving. I met some of these people - they had been raised in affluent families, they were smart, well educated, and talented. And yet, when the socialist system was established, these people found themselves under attack. After all, their mothers, fathers and/or grandparents have served the monarch! These people were banned from certain schools, they were not given jobs. Every system has its own flaws, the socialist system had plenty.

And yet, when I look at the future of this land of opportunities, I see only shrinking ones. For me, for my husband, for my child, for the majority of the population.

I do not see the solutions that great leaders should offer the greatest nation in the world.

Where is the grand vision?

Our children are the future of this country. Our priority in visioning should be to take good care of them, give them opportunities to learn, find their interests, realize themselves and be able and free of debt to apply their talents where their hearts are.

We should also make sure that these children grow up in stable families, families in which mom and dad have jobs.