Charles Handy Professor of Organizational Behavior at London Business School; Best selling author; International speaker.
“Freelancers tend to jump from one project to another. That’s essentially what we’re paying for—their accumulated experiences and the fresh external perspectives they bring.” What does this trend mean for your career? Should you go freelance? Or, position yourself to work with and learn from these cross-pollinators?
Tobin Trevarthen
8mo
"But when the purpose is not augmentation but innovation, firms need a different approach—one that fully integrates expert freelancers into a highly cohesive team." I submit this article still reflects the essence of "workflow" plug and play using rentable experts who do one function well. This still feels industrial age based on flexibility as the currency. I believe the true value of bringing in someone with horizontal insights is to embed them for a set duration where they can grasp the intent of the outcome, see the flow towards it and offer alternative thinking to improve that desired end state. This might suggest the script is off or the direction is heading towards a situation that you has an outside in person has seen before. That value add is not necessarily a "check the box on the progress of the project assignment".
What a great conversation starter. I have worked in hybrid environments for the large part of my career. As something interests me, research, autism awareness, PhD transition to industry, mentoring I find a way to freelance or contract in that space. This has built my scope of consultation and knowledge immensely, however it also makes my career history a tad complex to many! I see my history as offering as Herminia Ibarra says "an accumulated experiences and a fresh external perspectives" Let us hope recruiters and hiring managers do also. #innovation #careersbeyond #consulting #newopportunities. After my holiday to UK to visit my amazing daughter I will be on the search for new creative ways to freelance and contract my skills, perspectives and knowledge.
If you want to make the best use of freelancers/ contractors, choose ones with the biggest experience for the fee you are prepared to pay. These people bring value you can build on, they don’t take your job.
Career Coach for Experienced Professionals & Executives | Host of The Job Hunting Podcast | Private & Group Coaching | Career Consultations | LinkedIn Profile Audit | Online Career Courses | HR Consulting & Outplacement
8moThank you for the article, Herminia. As a career coach I can see everyday the shift my clients are making toward freelancing, as well as the challenge employers are facing to integrate them as a strategic part of the workforce - it's a key topic here in Australia and a trend in talent management around the world. I'm going to share your article with my clients who are on the fence, as I found that the examples of Microsoft and Mars showcase how a blended workforce can be adopted and highlight the importance of adapting to new work paradigms. It's not a change every professional wants or needs to make, but at least it's important to stay informed of the possibilities.