Are you a work place leader?

How are you innovating your work life and business environment? 

The world of work is rapidly changing. It is hard to imagine what it will look like 1 year from now, let alone 5.

I just read a research study that said 1 in 5 employees are looking at resigning within the next 12 months.

And, if you think so called 'best practice' is going to help you, think again. Best practice is simply what 'someone' has decided is the 'best practice'. It feeds and is fuelled by the training and consulting industry.

Have you ever stopped to wonder 'who' decides what the latest best practice is? Maybe it is time to look closer at those research papers from Price Waterhouse, Gallop, Deloitte, McKinsey, Boston Consulting, EY, Accenture and the like. External large consulting and training companies with big budgets. That's who determines best practice. So best practice, may not, in fact, be best practice for you business. Have you ever thought about that?

Another observation worth noting is that, by definition 'best practice' is 'yesterday's practice'. For example. if you think you are a leading edge business because you have a 'purpose' think again. That is no longer best practice, that is simply a necessity. Every time a 'best practice' is identified, it serves only to re-set and raise the foundation bench marks for all.

So where does that leave us?

Right now the world is spinning off its' axis. You don't have time to wait around to adopt the next 'best practice'.

Now is the time to be innovating, experimenting and exploring the new world of work -- and taking the risk to be a leader. After all, right now, we need more leaders. Real leaders. Thinkers, experimenters, risk takers who are not in it to win a popularity contest.

So with that in mind ... here are some questions we should be asking ourselves.

1 - If you are an established business - what are you doing to reinvent, reimagine and create new ways of working? No point asking your HR Manager for recommendations. If you are worried about the status quo, what others will think or if you have multiple levels of approvals and heirarchy to move through to get approval to change something - be prepared to join the ranks of the dinosaurs.

2 - If you are on a Company Board - what are you doing to support the management and leaderships team to take risks and try new things? Are you willing to support failure on the road to a break through? Now is not the time to think you have the answers. It is your job to 'hold the space' so the future of your company can be created.

3 - If you are an entrepreneur - what are you doing to create a work environment that you would want to work in .. as an employee? There isn't a course, a consultant or a coach who can answer that for you.

4 - If you are an employee - what makes your heart sing, what do you love doing and how can you do that as an employee and be equally passionate about contributing to, and adding energy to your employers business and goals? The question is NOT what a company can do for you, but where do your goals and passions intersect with those of your employer. The future is a two way street. It is about co-creation not co-dependence.

5 - If you are a regulator or law maker - how are the current rules, regulations, policies, laws etc constraining innovation in the work place and how can they be changed? It's time to be proactive.

6 - If you are a coach, trainer, advisor, consultant or mentor - are you reinforcing or teaching practices from 2 or 10 years ago that are no longer relevant to the world right now? Are you willing to let go of everything you know, to allow new information and ideas to come through? To create new bodies of wisdom? Are you willing to experiement with new knowledge and ideas? Are you willing to be a true leader and energise the change, innovation, creativity, original thinking that your clients need to truly succeed? Or do you want to stay in your comfort zone and continue to churn out the advice, training and coaching you have been doing for the last 10 years? .... because you just might be the reason the world is staying stuck! Think about that.