This is the second part of a dialogue between economist Shinichi Yamaguchi, associate professor at the International University of Japan's GLOCOM, and ITOKI's General Manager of the Advanced Research Division, Kazuhiro Ohashi. With "resilience" as the keyword, we will look into the second key point for adapting flexibly to new ways of working.
The key is "initiative"! The importance of living for yourself and on your own terms
Ohashi: The second key to adapting flexibly to new work styles is "work styles with initiative." This is an interesting keyword.
Yamaguchi: Simply put, this is about whether you think of your work as something you are "doing on your own" or "just doing what's been given to you." If you have initiative, in other words, if you are working on your work of your own volition, you will naturally try to adapt to changes in your environment and think about "how to work efficiently in that environment." On the other hand, if you are reluctantly doing what you've been given, changes in your environment will just feel like a pain. Naturally, you'll be more likely to complain. This difference between "having initiative" and "not having initiative" makes a bigger difference than you might think.
Ohashi:So how you perceive your work is what makes the difference.
Yamaguchi: Ultimately, this can also be said to mean that "people who enjoy their work are highly creative, while those who do it reluctantly perform poorly." We can also say that the latter type of people tend to slack off or become less efficient when working remotely.
The coronavirus pandemic has made this difference even more visible.
Ohashi: In the field I work in, research and development, it is common to set goals and work creatively. Therefore, autonomy is already a given, and this doesn't change even in teleworking. If each person doesn't think "I'm working on this myself" and stay highly motivated, they'll suddenly start thinking, "What should I do from tomorrow?"
However, while this may work well for autonomous employees with a certain amount of experience, it may be difficult for young people who have just joined the company.
Yamaguchi: That's true. They are people who are looking to gain sufficient experience to be able to work independently.
Ohashi:If that's the case, it's important to get small hints and general direction from someone around you. Thanks to that, I think there are many times when I can see a guidepost for what I should do.
Yamaguchi:The manager plays a role in giving hints.
Ohashi:Teleworking has significantly changed the way we work. In this situation, how should managers motivate their employees, especially online?
As we enter the new normal era, new theories of leadership will likely emerge.
Yamaguchi:Until now, the main role of a manager was to manage time and assign work. However, from now on, it will be necessary to think about what kind of people should work in what way and how to evaluate them. In this way, the things that are expected of managers are becoming more complex.
In other words, it may be that leaders and managers are the ones who most need resilience.
Ohashi: It's especially important for you, Manager, to be proactive. If you don't maintain your self-esteem and sense of self-efficacy, it may be difficult to stay motivated at work.
Speaking of myself, looking back, the fact that I have had experience in various fields, including failures, is an asset. I have a long history of "hot desking" and have been in hot desking position since 2004, as a section chief, department manager, and division manager. Thanks to that, I can talk about my own experiences of "how I got work done without my own desk" and "how I managed when my subordinates were not nearby" for each role.
hot desking, creating your own work, working autonomously. It's okay to work this way, so I need to convey that to the younger generation through my own success stories and failures. I ask myself whether that is what management and leadership is to me.
If you haven't experienced it yourself, it won't be convincing.
Yamaguchi: I think that's wonderful.
Ohashi: For example, even if you are told to "be flexible," it's difficult to do so unless you have had the experience of doing so successfully. "If I'm flexible, I might get told off. If I do as I'm told, I won't get told off, so it's better to do that..." For that person, it would seem like a considerable risk.
At the very least, it's important to have the experience and trust that shows you "this much is OK." That's why, when I have the opportunity to talk with young people, I try to proactively talk about what I've done. This is by no means a boastful story about my success, but I believe that there is a lot to be gained from listening to the "experiences" of others, just as there is from reading books and learning about the "experiences" of those who came before us.
Yamaguchi: In that way, it's very important to have an interest in the outside world, and it's really vital to be conscious of and make an effort to broaden your horizons.
For example, there are many people who think, "I don't want to go drinking with my boss" or "I don't want to listen to my boss' stories." I understand that feeling, but the stories of what your seniors have done are actually a "treasure trove." So instead of trying to avoid them, it's better to think, "Let's enjoy that treasure trove." If you can make your daily work that much more enjoyable by changing your mindset little by little like that, wouldn't that be a very happy thing?
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Every day can change depending on how you feel...just imagining it makes me feel excited.
In this series on the theme of resilience, we will cover the third point for adapting flexibly to new ways of working: how to think about "how" and "methods."
