04 Aug Thriving in an Age of Disruption
Tom Schlick, a business operations executive and author of Jumpstart Your Service Revolution: Transform Your Company’s DNA and Thrive in an Age of Disruption, discusses thriving in an age of disruption. Schlick shares key lessons on leadership, adaptability, and creating an inclusive culture in today’s disruptive environment.
The Key Challenges of the Age of Disruption
Schlick identifies three major trends shaping the modern workplace and offers actionable insights for navigating them effectively:
1. The War on Talent
- Challenges: Businesses face intense competition for skilled workers across all levels, from trades to senior executives.
- Solution: Foster a culture that retains top talent by prioritizing employee engagement and offering flexibility.
2. Hybrid and Remote Work
- Challenges: The shift to remote work reshapes employee expectations, broadens job markets, and complicates team dynamics.
- Solution: Build a virtual presence that promotes connection and understanding through empathy and clear communication.
3. DEI as a Lifestyle, Not a Slogan
- Challenges: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives often lose traction when treated as checkbox exercises rather than integrated values.
- Solution: Make DEI an intrinsic part of the organizational culture to drive engagement and innovation.
Schlick’s Pillars of Effective Leadership
Schlick emphasizes several leadership habits crucial for success in both stable and disruptive times:
Active Listening
- Listen to understand, not respond.
- Reflect back what you’ve heard to ensure clarity and alignment.
Clarity of Purpose
- Clearly define meeting types (information sharing, problem solving, decision making) to avoid confusion and foster alignment.
- Summarize and validate decisions to ensure team buy-in.
Intellectual Honesty
- Create a safe space for dissenting opinions to encourage innovative solutions.
- Delay sharing your perspective as a leader to avoid biasing team discussions.
Asking the Right Questions
- Use open-ended, non-leading questions to empower team members and deepen engagement.
- Avoid emotionally charged or solution-driven inquiries that stifle collaboration.
Inclusion as a Competitive Advantage
Schlick underscores the importance of inclusion in all areas of leadership:
- Global Teams: Understand and respect cultural differences, especially in hierarchical or deferential work environments.
- Team Participation: Actively invite quieter voices into the conversation and ensure everyone feels valued.
- Decision Quality: Diverse perspectives lead to decisions that are 20–30% better than those made in isolation.
Habits for Sustained Success
Schlick attributes his success to these foundational habits:
Conclusion
As organizations navigate the complexities of a disrupted world, leaders like Tom Schlick provide a roadmap for success. By focusing on inclusion, clarity, and engagement, businesses can not only survive but thrive in the face of change. As Schlick reminds us, fostering a culture where everyone feels heard and valued isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s also the best strategy for long-term growth.
About Tom Schlick
Tom Schlick is a business operations executive renowned for driving transformational change and growth in organizations of all sizes. With senior roles such as COO, SVP, and EVP, he brings extensive multi-industry expertise. Holding degrees in electrical engineering and finance management from the University of Minnesota, Tom is also an adjunct professor and a dedicated mentor with Menttium since 2004. He authored Jumpstart Your Service Revolution, a publication praised for its insights on thriving in disruptive times.