3 reasons why self assignment of work is the future
At the core of innovation is an agile mind in action that’s as much an experiment as it’s being a part of one. High agility demands high self-resolve to being open to change with least resistance, to deliver the new in the now, every time.
In a real world moment, where we’re all just taking a chance with our selves and each other — it’s time to do what it takes to sustain a level playing field.
Welcome to Work X.0: The virus & the vaccine.
Self assignment of work: Being highly ‘context aware’ in the moment & being open to taking chances with your self
Market needs today demand deep “context sensing”, “context awareness”, sustaining high alignment and agility. Businesses are challenged (now more than ever) to do the fine balancing act — between
- Critical thinking leading to prompt decision making & action
[and] - Acknowledging shared vulnerability of the unknown
as they go about fulfilling needs.
Businesses are challenged to remain curious & open at all times, to new ideas & perspectives that can radically change how a market need is perceived and how it can be fulfilled better.
In short, businesses are expected to be in a constant state of flux — sensing, learning & delivering the new in the now.
What does it take to do that?
A team of individuals with a resolve to approach problem solving (both at an individual level and a collective level), as an opportunity to become more self-aware and self-improving. An environment of safety for this team to take chances with their selves and each other, with an intent to serve the market need in the most optimal, energy efficient way, maximizing value delivered in the process.
Once you have above, all you need to do then is let the team sense the need, conceive the answer, breakdown what needs done and decide on how to do it. Basically, be nice.
Here are 3 reasons why self-assignment of work, is a sustainable alternative to work & workplaces.
1. Self assignment inspires taking the path of least resistance / conflict of interests
More often than not, when individuals are “instructed” what to do, there’s hardly an opportunity for individuals to “observe & perceive the context of need” from their perspective, “express ideas or suggestions” to jointly deliver value.
Basically, an individual is given a piece of work, invited to take a chance with their potential, often without much freedom to express how they see the challenge or suggest alternatives.
This often leads to a “precipitation of mental resistance” over time that can hinder the “best collective outcome”, from being delivered.
Self-assignment of work, on the other hand — invites every individual on the team to individually “observe the context of need” from their perspective, jointly breakdown what needs done and take a chance with their potential, in connection with their perceived peer power.
The individual also gets to independently assess the scope / responsibility they propose to take up — jointly evaluating business viability / project profitability with the team.
This allows an individual to first accept a risk / opportunity in coming forward to fulfil a need in their own way, with the team reassuring peer comfort — thereby minimizing stress / resistance in the process.
When every individual on the team feels self empowered to impact the collective outcome, the team gains greater agility [or] collective potential to respond to change (with least resistance).
In short, self assignment of work leads to self empowerment & team empowerment, which makes the journey of solving problems, more “entrepreneurial” — creating collective outcomes.
2. Self assignment inspires accessing one’s curiosity & resilience more often
Work is somewhat like a vaccine in appropriate measure, that can hurt and may initially feel like a part of the virus that can kill — and at the same time be that catalyst to develop the immunity to fight a virus that kills when you’re confronted with one.
Work can be a great opportunity to access one’s (inherent yet concealed) human abilities — like connection, responsibility, compassion, resilience, sustainability, fearlessness, creativity, curiosity, impact on others etc given a sense of safety to endure this journey within oneself.
Given an environment of (sustained) trust & psychological safety, an individual is likely to accept work as an opportunity to explore their potential and give back to the society in their own ways.
Basically, choose evolution.
Given an individual is highly vulnerable, as they’re accessing their creativity, resilience and navigating through fears in the face of challenge — it’s extremely important to sustain an atmosphere where the individual is not criticized / penalized to have taken a brave move with an intent to create the best outcome.
When the culture / ethos is reassuring for an individual to safely approach work, as an opportunity to access one’s inherent resilience and mental health — self assignment of work can lead to sustained wellness and leadership development.
3. Self assignment fuels gratitude for self & others
Humans are symbiotic beings, evolving through our ability to be interdependent and deliver (mutually beneficial) exchange of value. In our virtuous commitment to deliver value to each other, we may not always dedicate moments to delve in gratitude / thankfulness, pride / appreciation, compassion / empathy for ourselves and for others, for setting the stage in the first place.
In an environment, where an individual self-assigns work, being aware that it is a teamsport — there’s an “underlying belief” that one is taking a chance with oneself, in awareness of the vulnerability of the self and the inevitability of their interdependence on others.
This very awareness, can fuel an individual to feel thankful to self for taking a chance to explore themselves and feel thankful to everyone for their presence in co-creating the journey (irrespective of the outcome).
When the environment is designed for accomplishment & gratitude, at every moment of opportunity —individuals feel invited to share credit to others, as much as they recognize themselves. As a result, the team becomes a mirror reflection of an individual’s greatness one observes in oneself.
Codewave’s product Timely, has been our bravest social experiment (so far) in productizing our culture — to make the world of work & workplaces more open, for generations to come.
Codewave was founded in 2013, to create an environment of radical transparency, empathy and peer comfort — helping individuals to go on a fearless adventure of knowing what to do, when no-one’s there telling what to do. We continue to be a living, social experiment open to individuals / families / societies / organizations finding self sustainable alternatives to work. We’re thankful to everyone on our journey so far, to have shaped us to be who we are, stay true to our experiment and to who we aspire to become.
For all we know, maybe this’s worth taking a chance to reimagine a new world.
