![]() ![]() One key reason that AI initiatives fail to live up to their promise is that AI developers are often siloed from the end-users of the technology. ![]() Perspective swaps can also be valuable when applied to specific projects, initiatives, or change efforts, such as AI-related initiatives. Perspective Swaps at the Project or Initiative Level Instructing members of different teams to temporarily swap places can fuel a new level of empathy and understanding - and, if all goes well, productive organizational change. Think about which of your teams stand to gain the most from perspective swaps. Yet cross-functional collaboration with these teams is critical: IT team members need to collaborate with legal team members to respond to cybersecurity threats, with finance team members to chop budgets and double down on profitability, and with HR team members to enhance the digital employee experience. We’ve found that there are three groups whose business priorities IT professionals are struggling to understand most right now: legal, finance, and HR. In our latest research at The Work Innovation Lab, we’ve been studying the evolving role of IT professionals, particularly CIOs and CTOs. After just one week, the leaders were able to gain a deeper understanding of each other’s challenges and resolve the issues that had caused the spats. Fresh from watching the film “Freaky Friday,” Horowitz instructed the heads of the two teams to swap places. Venture capitalist Ben Horowitz applied a perspective swap at one of his portfolio companies after he noticed that two teams - customer support and sales engineering - were spewing “blistering complaints” at one another and struggling to collaborate. ![]() Perspective swaps can also be effective when applied laterally across different teams, such as sales, marketing, and HR. Unexpected events, or “wobblers,” are thrown into the mix to test the team’s ability to respond to change with agility. Leaders are divided into teams and given the opportunity to act as “CEO” for two days. At its annual planning summit, San Francisco-based cloud infrastructure company HashiCorp runs a virtual simulation that shakes up the traditional power structure. Fortunately, there are ways to lower the stakes. When perspective swaps happen at the highest echelons of a company, the stakes can be high (an unlimited budget in the wrong hands could be catastrophic). For CEO Ville Houttu, the program has helped surface his own blind spots and gain a clearer picture of how to best serve his employees. ![]() From instituting new coworker lunches aimed at building connections among employees to implementing new employee mental health resources during the pandemic, the program has led to swift and meaningful changes. They’re given an unlimited budget to make one decision that will improve the workplace. Strategies for transformation at midsize companies and beyond.Īt Vincit, a mid-sized IT services company based in Finland, one employee is selected per month to be CEO for a day. Perspective swaps can help detox leaders from blind spots and distorted views of what’s actually happening on their teams. Leaders often suffer from “power poisoning” and fixate on their own needs and ambitions. Vertical perspective swaps happen between leaders and their employees. Perspective swaps can be applied vertically - up and down your organizational chart - or laterally across different functional groups. Although these switcheroos can be valuable for all businesses, midsize companies are especially poised to benefit from them because they’re up against less bureaucracy and red tape than their larger counterparts, but are still infused with enough complexity to profit from a change in mindset. Perspective swaps involve intentionally shifting your point of view to gain a new understanding of a situation. Or, an HR representative might spend a week working in sales. For example, a CEO might spend a day working as a customer service representative. In a world where complacency can be comfortable, one unconventional approach can jolt organizations out of their traditional ways: It’s called the perspective swap. To remain competitive, businesses must continually challenge the status quo and find ways to reinvent themselves. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |