The New Virtual Organization World
It's a New Principled World, It's Virtual, and It's Organized
by Pierre Coupet Here in the USA, GSA (Government Services Administration) has been at the forefront of the promotion and implementation of mobility and telework within all government agencies. As well, the US government has had a Cloud First Policy in place which was instituted in 2011 by its very first then-U.S. CIO Vivek Kundra.
Businesses Are Lagging Behind
But
as strange as it may seem because most of us would probably think it
would be the other way around, businesses as well as state, county,
city and local governments are lacking way behind the federal government when
it comes to implementing a robust mobile and virtual workforce, let
alone a virtual organization workforce. On a side note, at the risk of
drawing the ire of whomever came up with the word "telework", this is
just too antiquated a word for me to use in my own writings; except when
used in reference to when or how the term is actually used by others -
as is the case in this article. So, let us move on.
Working in a Virtual Environment is Not for Everyone
However,
that being said,
working in a virtual (telework) environment or virtual organization
environment is NOT for everyone. As well, in case of a major man-made or
natural disaster, or
other Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) event or Judgment Day, having a virtual workspace or virtual collaboration
capabilities, on its own, may not be
sufficient if you are dealing with a prolonged disaster of magnitude
proportions. In which
case, being able to LEAD in a virtual organization environment - not
just virtual or telework environment - will be required of all Executives and Managers; something which is easier said than done.
Who Will LEAD in a Virtual Organization Environment?
Knowing who will be able to LEAD in a virtual organization
environment when a prolonged disaster of magnitude proportions
strikes is not
something that should be left to chance or a roll of the dice; taken
with a grain of salt; or "we'll cross that bridge when we get there"
mentality. This is
something that you should plan for and know well in advance, and these
individuals should be assigned to Elite Virtual Organization Teams on
Standby, ready to be
activated within a second's notice regardless of where in the world they
happen to be.
After all, as much as I hate to burst anyone's bubble and as distressing as it may sound to some of you, just because someone is an awesome brick-and-mortar, social media or social networking executive with superb leadership skills, and commands the respect and admiration of their peers and subordinates in a brick and mortar or even remote workforce environment; does NOT necessarily mean that this executive is well-suited to lead in a 100% virtual or virtual organization environment. As a matter of fact, at the risk of alienating the very audience I seek to impart my knowledge to and assist, I will even venture to say, based on empirical evidence acquired over the past 16 years since I have founded the virtual organization management discipline, that, in the absence of having obtained formal training in the virtual organization management discipline, you are most likely ill-suited to LEAD in a virtual organization environment.
After all, as much as I hate to burst anyone's bubble and as distressing as it may sound to some of you, just because someone is an awesome brick-and-mortar, social media or social networking executive with superb leadership skills, and commands the respect and admiration of their peers and subordinates in a brick and mortar or even remote workforce environment; does NOT necessarily mean that this executive is well-suited to lead in a 100% virtual or virtual organization environment. As a matter of fact, at the risk of alienating the very audience I seek to impart my knowledge to and assist, I will even venture to say, based on empirical evidence acquired over the past 16 years since I have founded the virtual organization management discipline, that, in the absence of having obtained formal training in the virtual organization management discipline, you are most likely ill-suited to LEAD in a virtual organization environment.
How to Select These Virtual Organization Leaders
The question then becomes, 'How will you know, or how do you know, who
these Virtual Organization Leaders are?" Well, this is not something
that you learn on the fly or, as the expression goes, knowledge that
you gain by watching your brick and mortar or remote workforce 'fly by
the seat of their pants.' Why is that, you might say? That's
because there is a huge difference between social networking, 'teleworking', working in a
'virtual' environment, and working in a 'virtual organization'
environment - something which obviously falls outside the scope of this
discussion. Therefore, when these Virtual Organization Leaders are
called upon to perform at a critical time, it is absolutely imperative
that there be no room for error or margin for failure due to Trial-and-Error or
"doing the best they can under the circumstances." That will not be
good enough.
It's one thing to be caught off guard due to a lack of knowledge or information; but it's a completely different matter to ignore the warnings from those who have been in the trenches.
Therefore, here is the answer:
Train, Assess and Certify. Schedule ALL Senior Level Executives in your organization (that you consider Essential Personnel from a Continuity of Operations Plan standpoint) for the formal Virtual Organization Leadership Executive Training, Assessment, and Certification and official award of the Virtual Organization Leadership Executive designation.
Absent this formal Virtual Organization Leadership Executive Training, Assessment and Certification, the only possible outcome that you will have during a COOP event or on Judgment Day is "Virtual Chaos." Social networking and social media will only exacerbate the problem and make it go viral.
Absent this formal Virtual Organization Leadership Executive Training, Assessment and Certification, the only possible outcome that you will have during a COOP event or on Judgment Day is "Virtual Chaos." Social networking and social media will only exacerbate the problem and make it go viral.
In an Ideal World
Ideally speaking, all essential employees, not just Managers and Executives, should undergo, at the
very least, a Virtual Organization Aptitude Assessment in order to determine which ones are able to adapt
and thrive in a virtual organization environment; so that, in the event of any sort of crisis, emergency or disaster, you
can have a readily available pool of employees and personnel who
are able to adapt and thrive in a "virtual organization" - not just
virtual or telework - environment. After all, your newly minted Virtual Organization Leadership Executives will also need to have in place support personnel they can rely on when they need them the most.
Summary
In conclusion, it's not enough to have a remote workforce, globally distributed teams, or flexible workforce strategy in
place and being in the Cloud since disaster comes in various shapes,
forms and magnitudes. We must always be prepared for the very worst
as we hope for the very best, and that, my friends, requires a great deal of
effort and serious preparation. Thus, the time for Virtual Organization Leadership Executive Training, Assessment and Certification is Now instead of something that can be put on a back burner for future consideration.
About VOR: Virtual Organization Recruiter is the world's leading and only virtual organization aptitude assessment firm that is strictly focused on the assessment, training and certification of senior executives and mid-level professionals, military-intelligence-defense personnel, public policy executives, government officials, academics and faculty members who are able to adapt and thrive - and Lead
- in a 100% virtual or virtual organization environment.
About Author: Pierre Coupet, CEO & Q of Virtual Organization Management is the founder of Virtual Organization Management Institute (VOMI), VOMI Virtual Organization Academy, and Virtual Organization Recruiter:: founder
of the modern virtual organization management and virtual organization
recruitment disciplines pioneered since 1997:: founder of League of Extraordinary Virtual Organization Executives:: and Architect of THE NEW VIRTUAL ORGANIZATION WORLD Collection. Contact directly at chairman@virtualorganizationinstitute.com; or via CHAT.
Stock Photo: courtesy of Pixabay
Copyright
2007-2016. Pierre Coupet. VOMI. Virtual Organization Management
Institute. VOMI Virtual Organization Academy. Virtual Organization
Recruiter. All rights reserved. Cannot be reproduced without
permission.
