Winning The Race

Rise above the ‘or’ paradigm. Embrace the roles of a manager ‘and’ a leader.

- Ken Pasch

“On your mark, get set, go!” I wonder if the Industrial Revolution was launched by a referee who uttered those words and then fired the starter’s pistol. Beginning with a bang more than 200 years ago, the Industrial Revolution spurred an era of production and innovation—as well as an unprecedented increase and subsequent conundrum of management and labour issues. Since then, we have experienced at least two more revolutions—the Technological and Digital Revolutions— which, together, have significantly shaped and altered the modern workplace.

Thanks to the cumulative demands of all three revolutions, leaders I work with tell me they feel as though they are in a never-ending race. They also believe they have been penalised by being required to wear heavy boots, while their opponents, who have been trained for this new landscape, have donned the most advanced running shoes.

And while fewer employees today suffer from ‘black lung disease’ or are subjected to the dangerous working environments of the Industrial Revolution, a significant number of modern employees suffer from something as insidious and significant: a lack of purpose. Recent surveys from around the globe show that upwards of 85% of employees are not engaged, or are actively ‘disengaged’, in the work they do.

So who will improve this plight? Will it be managers or leaders?