Reinvent Work

Today’s post comes from ABC’s This Working Life presenter, author and d.school program alum, Lisa Leong and her co-author Monique Ross. Lisa is best-known and -loved for the improvisational rap performance she gave when we invited her back to Stanford to give an alumni address.

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Thanks to my friend and legendary improviser Dan Klein, I once played an improv game with an imaginary ball of clay. A bunch of us stood in a virtual circle, passing it around. When it arrived in my hands, I squished and pressed and prodded until a form organically emerged in my mind.

I don’t remember what I made — maybe a microphone? A guitar? — but that’s not really important. What matters is that everyone in the circle saw something different emerge in that clay; each of us had a unique approach to giving it shape and meaning.

Between us all, a space opened up, where new things could manifest. The magic happened when we started to build on each other’s ideas, taking what one pair of hands had crafted, and growing it in some way.

During COVID, I have been playing around with the idea that the world of work, like the clay, is malleable: ripe and ready to be shaped into something of our own design.

I’ve been writing a book with journo and forest bathing guide (yes, it’s a thing) Monique Ross about how to navigate your career in times of chaos and uncertainty. I think of myself as more of an explorer than an expert, and I’ve gathered a pretty epic squad of collaborators during this expedition. It’s almost like an unofficial junto (a concept I first discovered on this very blog) —  a bunch of different minds coming together to share and learn; to stand and look at the problems together. 

An idea has started to take shape in my mind: just maybe, our current state of upheaval could give rise to the second renaissance.

At its essence (and acknowledging the rose-coloured glasses here) I’d describe the renaissance as a curious, creative collective of people — mixed in with technological and educational shifts, and a re-focus on humanism and nature — questioning the old structures and ‘certainties’ to make sense of the world. (Ed: cue the spirit of dissent!)

I believe a curious, creative collective may once again emerge, this time to redesign the world of work. Underpinning the second renaissance will be the idea of bringing humanity back to the workplace. This is an opportunity to re-discover and re-value what is truly human in our work — empathy, creativity, joy, humour, and even love.

We need all hands on deck for this. The real magic happens in a space of collaboration and learning, where everyone is empowered to bring their unique ideas and superpowers into the mix. There is so much power in seeing things from a different perspective — just like the imaginary clay, there is no limit to what we might create. Who’s ready?

Related: Convene A Junto, Why A Junto Works
Related: Beware Conventional Wisdom
Related: Embracing the Outsider’s Perspective
Related: The Value of Being An Outsider

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