I talk with many companies each year, and have found that high-performing organizations (the “agile” ones) manage people differently. They have embraced the new definition of work:
1. They reward results and expertise, not position.
Accenture rewards its consultants based on a 7-level capability model, which people are expected to focus on over many years of their career. People are evaluated based on the “internal demand” for their skills, not just their manager’s assessment of performance.
Intel regularly rewards and moves top engineering talent around the company to promote and build their expertise.
2. They break down functional silos and facilitate work across business functions.
One of Pfizer’s greatest organizational breakthroughs was the company’s focus on “science teams” which collaborate and share information on various body systems, organs, and molecules – across different product teams.
IBM regularly creates global action-teams which take people from functional groups and brings them together to work on large client projects.
3. They reward continuous learning and “learning agility.”
The Federal Reserve and even the IRS now reward people for contributing knowledge to others becoming better teachers and learners. Some academics call this a push for “serial incompetence,” meaning people are regularly moved into new roles to expand their breadth of experience.
