This article was first published in 2002, as part of Dictum Publishing’s Leadership Session feedback.

A Brief History of Humanity

The simplest summary of the broad sweep of human history is this uncomplicated thought: Let something else do the work. From the earliest hunter-gatherers, whoused sticks, rocks, flint and fire, through farmers who tamed animals and water to add extra strength to human muscles, to the Industrial era, where peoples muscles were replaced by machines, internal combustion engines and smoke-drenched factories, humankind has been on a quest to let something else do the work. These first 3 epochs of human history (subsistence, agrarian, industrial), spanning more than 10,000 years, brought us to the point in history when we only get physically tired for fun.

Having reached this point, we turned our quest to let something do the work, to the next most obvious human function: thinking. For the last 50 years, the information era has been in full swing. The theme of this era has been allowing machines to do more andmore of our thinking for us. The logical conclusion of this trend is that in a decade or so, we will only do thinking for fun.Any functions that are based on routinely applying set rules to given situations, however complex, will be the first to be completely replaced by computers. This will affect everyone from the accountant (the most obvious place to start), through lawyers and teachers, all the way to doctors (especially the GP).

But what else can machines do for us? Where is the next step in the human quest to let something else do the work? When machines do all the physical and mental work for us, the only logical human function remaining is our emotions the human soul and spirit. The great science fiction writer, Arthur Clarke once speculated about what would happen if humans allowed computers the right to regulate our emotions. He concluded we would fall into a loop of perfectly controlled emotions, where the computers would decide that our drugged, controlled state is ideal for us, and not let us escape. He postulates that at that point, humans will embrace imperfection that the subtle differences between us, the vagaries of human nature, are indeed the things that make us human. We will settle for things because of the emotions involved.

The Emotion Economy

In this emotion economy, the story becomes very important thats where the emotions are. For example, although scientifically, there are many efficient ways of making eggs (including placing hens in large industrial age factory-like cages where they cannot even move, inserting red contact lenses in their eyes, changing the day-night cycle to a 19 hour day instead of the natural 24 hours, and even hooking them up with electronic impulses), many people are prepared to pay a premium to ensure that the hens that produce the eggs are happy. Hence the dominance of the free range chicken. This is a wonderful example of how the storyand emotions behind a product have now become even more important than the product itself. The purchase is an emotional one, not an intellectual exercise. It is the emotion economy at work.

The current high profile of EQ (emotional intelligence), interventions like sensitivity training, diversity management, or networking and similar soft skills, is indicative of the fact that this shift, from the information to the emotion era is already underway. Humans are reclaiming their humanity in the workplace. We may like machines to do the manual labour for us. We may be a little concerned that they can think for us but at least we can get our minds around that. But we will not let them feel for us.

It may be possible to get a computer to chemically replicate the feeling we get when our children hug us in the morning, but will we want to? It may be possible to create the perfect game of cricket or footballby holographically (or genetically) reproducing the greatest players of all time, and watching them play live in an actual stadium. But once the novelty of seeing it the first time has worn off, will this be what we want for the future of sport? I think not.

The Way We Work

The generation currently dominating the workplace, those people born in the late 1940s through early 1960s (the so-called Baby Boomers), were born at the start of the information era. Their thinking is largely shaped by the transition from Industrial era mentality to an information era mindset. The next generation, just entering the workplace, those people born in the late 1960s through early 1980s (the so-calledGeneration Xers), have grown up in the full glare of the information era, and stand on the cusp of the transition to the era of emotions. The young Generation Xers are intuitively ready for this new era of business models.

“The new economy culture, which emerged in the early 1980’s, rested on 3 primary tenets: freedom and self-direction in your work; purpose and contribution through your work; and wealth creation by your work. Central to the new economy culture was the idea that work is our primary activity, and that through work, properly constructed, we can attain much of the meaning that we are looking for in life. Driving the new economy were immenselytalented, energetic people looking for a practical answer to a fundamental question: how can I create work I’m passionate about, that makes a contribution, and that makes money?” (Built To Last, p 247).

To attract, motivate, reward, retain, and lead this next generation of employees takes a different set of skills to those required in previous eras. These young people act like consultants, even when employed. They are motivated more by flexibility than money. They value adaptability more than strategy or vision. And they still want personal fulfilment, a sense of purpose, and financial reward. The problem is that in most cases the leaders and managers who need to work with these new generation employees have not been trained for the emotion economy, nor do they personally have this new economy mindset. Theyre not used to their employees acting like volunteers.

Leading Volunteers

The good news is that there is at least one sector that is completely ready and geared up for this new attitude in the workplace. It is the non-profit, volunteer-based sector. This is not a place that corporate leaders have often gone for lessons on leadership and management. In fact, the non-profit sector has a rather bad reputation for good governance principles. Yet, understanding the art and science of getting the most out of volunteers is a vital key to the futuresuccess of emotion economy companies. Keith Coats, himself an 18-year veteran of a youth development agency, now turned business and leadership consultant, explains that leadership needs to change to rely more on internal motivators, inviting relationships, and the building of trust and mutual respect. Employees will need to be given the same level of attention that customers now enjoy. That will mean a daily focus on understanding the needs and aspirations of employees, and changing the role of management into a service mentality towards employees. Coats is convinced these lessons can be learnt by looking at successful leadership in volunteer-based organisations.

Some companies have already started down this road and are applying the lessons they learn. For example, in a volunteer-based organisation, the leader must take into account the personal life of the volunteer. Where a person has issuesto deal with, this will take precedence over volunteer activities. To respond to employees personal lives, therefore, a few companies now employ concierges a function available to employees, who may use the concierge to arrange all manner of personal activities, from fetching dry cleaning or ensuring the car is serviced, to organising movie tickets or booking a special evening with the boyfriend.

The Industrial era management style that the JOB is the perk is no longer true. These next generation bright young things know that there isnt a job shortage out there at least not for someone of their skills and attitude. They need more than a salary payment into their account at the end of each month to remain motivated, loyal and active. They need to feel that they are in an environment where they are valued as people, not just as economic entities. Leadership in the future will be more about supporting people as people, than about simply extracting productive capacity from them.

As we progress further into the new era of the emotion economy, we will need to spend more time developing a relational leadership style. It is comforting to know that we are not forging entirely new paths. If we are prepared to look in unexpected places, like the non-profit sector, we may just find the tools we need for phenomenal future success.

Selected Bibliography and Suggested Reading List

Ackoff, Russell. Re-Creating the Corporation: A Design for Organizations for the 21^st Century. Oxford University Press, 1999.
Badaracco, Joseph, Jr. Leading Quietly. Harvard Business School Press, 2002.
Collins, James, and Jerry Porras. Built to Last. Random House, 2000.
Chowdhury, Subir (editor). Management 21C. Financial Times / Prentice Hall, 2000.
Covey, Stephen. Principle-Centered Leadership. Simon & Schuster, 1991.
Drucker, Peter. The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Nonprofit Organization. The Drucker Foundation. Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1993.
______. Management Challenges for the 21^st Century. HarperBusiness, 1999.
Easum, Bill. Leadership on the Other Side: No Rules, Just Clues. Abingdon Press, 2000.
Hesselbein, Frances, Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard (editors). The Leader of the Future. The Drucker Foundation. Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1996.
______. The Organization of the Future. The Drucker Foundation. Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1997.
Howe, Neil and William Strauss. Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation. Vintage Books, 2000.
Jensen, Rolf. The Dream Society. McGraw-Hill, 1999.
Jinkins, Michael and Deborah Bradshaw Jinkins. The Character of Leadership: Political Realism and Public Virtue in Nonprofit Organizations. Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1998.
Martin, Carolyn, and Bruce Tulgan. Managing Generation Y: Global Citizens Born in the Late Seventies and Eighties. HRD Press, 2001.
Rabey, Steve. In Search of Authentic Faith: How the Emerging Generations are Reshaping the Church. Waterbrook Press, 2001.
Tulgan, Bruce. Winning the Talent Wars. WW Norton & Company, 2002.

Dr Graeme Codrington is an expert on corporate talent and the future of work. As a member of the TomorrowToday team, he specializes in powerful, yet playful, keynote presentations. Contact Graeme at graeme@tomorrowtoday.biz.