I freely admit to being a pretty big fan of Malcolm Gladwell. Still, like many people, his recent comments on The Diary Of A CEO podcast left me wondering exactly why he was trashing the idea of working from home. In the episode’s headline, he blames this phenomenon for “destroying” us. Within the in-depth conversation with host Steven Bartlett, the New York Times best-selling author overtly doubts our abilities to contribute to society, to fashion meaningful lives, and to engage professionally, from outside corporate offices.
Coming from this highly accomplished freelancer, these sentiments seem blatantly hypocritical. Nonetheless, seeing how aggressively people are responding, I am actually appreciating the Gladwell effect on defending remote work.
Personally, I have been engaging with the world – including scores of industry leaders spanning numerous industries – remotely, from my home-based office and occasionally from coffee shops, airports, and other travel destinations – for well over two decades. In response to Malcolm’s question as to whether or not this is the life I want to live, my answer is, Yes, absolutely.
I do understand that many companies are actively facilitating a return to workplaces, where the benefits for all involved are likely to be phenomenal. However, since so many of us are now able to collaborate without being in the same office, I find it highly counterproductive to question the value of these proven work approaches.
On this radioactive topic, Gartner VP and Customer Experience Analyst Augie Ray just provided some timely leadership counsel on LinkedIn, which is well worth sharing. In his words, “Instead of being a Malcolm Gladwell and deriding remote and hybrid jobs, be a better, more empathetic leader for your employees who are working remotely. Make remote work more manageable, productive, and engaging for employees and the organization with Gartner’s 9 tips.”
Gartner’s article is free to read, and it also links to other invaluable resources for all those seeking to evolve their culture and leadership in this changing world. In the days ahead, I’m eager to see how this conversation turns, especially among our very best and brightest thought-leaders, including Malcolm Gladwell… as well as Graeme Codrington, whose TEDx talk from 2021 is wonderfully insightful.
