Orange World

You are a leader if someone is following you. This could be as simple as one person watching you and following your example and encouragement, to being a leader in your home, your community, your workplace or even your nation. Leadership can take many forms, but typically it often involves managing people- one of the most difficult of all tasks. It means coordinating and motivating the actions of others to achieve a common goal. A leader has to establish that goal, and gain the willing agreement of others to be governed by and work together towards that goal.

The style of leadership taken by any leader is usually predetermined by the personality and motivational values of that person. They are who they are, as a personality, and that has a strong influence on the way they lead and communicate with others.

The study of personality traits has been on going for centuries, and there is a great deal of agreement in the conclusions and findings of personality characteristics.

Every personality type has particular talents and skills that lend themselves to good leadership. Any form of leadership however, is greatly enriched and enhanced if it is able to draw on the strengths and characteristics of the other styles.

A leader who has a strong Gold personality type is personally committed and dedicated to the goal. They work hard, and expect their team to do the same. They lead from a place of belief that the work is important, and has to be done right. Gold leaders value tradition- the ways of the past are proven ways, and so do not take well to new ideas unless they are well proven to have potential.

Leaders with a strong Blue personality are motivated by their commitment to the people involved, and a strong sense of community. They have a democratic style of management, valuing the input of employees and team workers. Blue leaders tend to see the big picture, and have the ability to inspire others with the vision.

The strong Green leadership style also sees the big picture as well as the complexity of detail. Green leaders excel in strategy. They bring intellect, ingenuity and design into the leadership role. They research and analyze facts and concepts, constantly looking for improvements for working smarter rather than harder. Facts and information are all important to the Green leader, and they pay little attention to the value of feelings and relationships.

Action is the focus of the Orange leader. Administration and organization exist to make action possible. They are great troubleshooters. The Orange leader leads by example, setting the standard to follow. Orange management style can be quite authoritarian and abrupt as they are impatient with opposition, and expect their directions to be followed. Above all Orange leaders welcome change believing that the old ways can always be improved on. A new project represents, adventure, a challenge and potential fun, all of which the Orange personality thrives on.

Every leader has a combination of all four personalities, but one will always be the stronger, more natural way to operate in. A leader’s style may also be a blend of their main strength, combined with their second strongest style. A wise leader will understand the strengths and weaknesses of their personal leadership style and use those team members with different styles to bring balance and greater efficiency in meeting the shared goal.

Much has been written about what the workplace of the future will look like.

Two years ago, I found a blog about looking at future workplace trends in a PricewaterhouseCoopers report, Managing Tomorrow’s People. In that report, PwC foreshadowed big corporates turning into mini states, specialist workers and companies joining forces in networks, and environmental issues taking over the agenda. Now PwC has done an update in the wake of the global financial crisis. Let’s take a look to see what’s changed.

Like the earlier report, the updated version envisages three worlds, or three different types of companies: green, blue and orange. The Australian version of the report is here. The Orange world comprises businesses that are fragmented, small, lean and nimble, companies that have skeleton staff but which rely on an extensive network of suppliers. Blue types of companies are big corporations with solid size, talent, technology and leadership. These sorts of companies pay oversized bonuses to great performers. The Green world is filled with companies that have a powerful social conscience with “green” policies. There are many energy, automotive and financial service companies in that space. In the wake of the financial crisis, they are also very focused on reducing risk.

The report looks at some potential trends that will emerge out of the financial crisis.

In the Green space, companies will be looking at ways to motivate staff beyond salary. It sees them introducing initiatives where employees can earn bonus credits that could earn them gigs like being seconded to an overseas office, government department or non-government organisation, learning a new vocation or language, getting paid sabbaticals or extended maternity and paternity leave, or receiving subsidies for green improvements to the home. Following the financial meltdown, employees are rewarded for not taking excessive risks.

Orange companies have only a handful of staff and instead rely extensively on contractors, known as “team workers”. In response to the lay off, these sorts of companies would track layoffs at competitor firms and created social networking sites for the jobless to share experiences and advice. This gave rise to a new social networking system called Workbook where candidates could post their information for a small fee. What these radical innovations did was provide these companies with an enormous pool of potential talent, perfect for dealing with the skills shortage.

Companies in the Blue space are committed to turning human resources into a competitive advantage to build up teams of talented and motivated employees.

The report identifies a number of issues that are going to make the world of work look very different in the next few years. First, they will have to accept that Generation Y has a completely different take on work. Many millennials would be comfortable with an employer providing personal services such as housing/food/regular doctor and dentist appointments. Secondly, environmental issues will change the way companies operate, not only in terms of legislation but also as opportunities that could provide them with a competitive advantage. They will also have to work hard to restore the trust that was shattered in the financial crisis. And also, the health and well being of the workforce will be a key focus because unhealthy or unhappy workers will result in reduced productivity.

That’s PwC’s take on the future, What do you think the workplace of the future will look like? And how will the financial crisis reshape it? Have you noticed any changes coming in now?