Closing the loop

On adapting to changing organizational structures

I have long supported the concept of portfolio careers. Not least because I have always struggled to narrow down my wide array of interests into a job (or even a career) that would make perfectly logical sense on a resume or in a chronological LinkedIn profile.

This week, Jon Victor at The Information wrote about the increasingly blurry lines separating software engineers, designers and product managers. Almost ironically, last year, LinkedIn’s Chief Product Officer began changing the way teams are organized, grouping employees around the product on which they’re working rather than by function each reporting to different managers. The goal of the change was to encourage “full-stack building” and teams to move faster and experiment more. I have no doubt it will be successful, giving workers more agency and freedom to be creative beyond the artificial boundaries of their job title.

I expect organizational structures will continue evolving at an ever-growing pace and will be left fundamentally transformed by AI. Several other large organizations have brought their information technology and human resources departments together under a single leader, a testament to the changing needs of companies when it comes to knowledge transfer and managerial structures. In that environment, I am also particularly interested in the corresponding alternative ways we need to educate rising leaders and our current students about the opportunities they will have when they enter the workforce and what skills they will need to avail themselves of these opportunities and how to navigate their career journey. If you are working on innovative solutions relevant to any of these trends, please email me here and/or fill out this form. I look forward to hearing from you!