“Adapting to the Future of Work” with Ira Wolfe | Ep. 110
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About this Episode:
In this episode of the Transformative Leader Podcast, I’m happy to bring you a conversation with speaker, author, and work futurist, Ira Wolfe, about how we can survive and thrive amidst the uncertainty presented by the future of work, especially in a post-pandemic world. Ira is president of Poised for the Future Company, founder of Success Performance Solutions, and a popular presenter at SHRM and business conferences. He’s the author of 6 books including his latest, Recruiting in the Age of Googlization (also available for free at this page).
For 25 years, Ira has been at the leading edge of pre-hire and leadership assessments, recruitment marketing, and workforce trends. He has been dancing with change his entire professional life, profoundly shaped by both his fascination and fear of a VUCA future where the line between reality and science fiction blur. I think many of us would agree that that future is quickly becoming a reality in the present, and is now even more complicated with the prospects of trying to survive and thrive in a post-pandemic world, but that’s why it was so great to have such a timely discussion with Ira on this topic.
Although we didn’t get as deep as we could have in this one conversation, Ira brought a refreshing, sobering, and often entertaining look at a topic that we don’t often discuss enough, i.e. the future, specifically the future of work and what it means for thriving professionally. I've said before, though not often enough, that in our age of rapid technological advancement, the need for soft skills, HR, and leadership is actually become more important, not less so. Although that seems unintuitive at first glance, the fact is that, as one of Ira’s programs puts it, “there is no app“ for those skills; you either cultivate them or you don’t.
And the way I see it, the more AI, automation, and “Googlization“ take over the work landscape, the fewer people there will be in charge of greater and greater proportions of teams, organizations, and industries. So it is even more vitally important that they have the leadership and culture transformation skills because there will be less people to take up their slack should they fail to do so.
I really enjoyed this conversation, I think it’s an important and fascinating topic, and I would love to have Ira back to go even deeper on the future of work and what it means for leaders and organizations. I encourage anyone who is currently dealing with or worried about uncertainty in the job market or professional world—i.e. everyone—definitely check out this episode! And I also encourage you all to check our Ira’s website, which has a wealth of practical insight that anyone and everyone will find both helpful and entertaining.
And speaking of having Ira back, I just wanted to let listeners know that, since we recorded this conversation, Ira has unveiled a new concept and masterclass that I also encourage you to check out. It’s called AQ, Adaptability Quotient, and information on the masterclass program can be found at this page.
Some topics discussed in this episode include:
How Ira discovered his passion for work futurism and adapting to change, starting from his desire to get into dentistry of all things!
Many of the complexities and uncertainties in today’s society to which business and individuals must learn to adapt themselves to grow and be successful.
The critical importance of adopting a growth mindset, as opposed to a fixed one, when facing challenges and uncertainty.
Five traits that leaders must develop to demonstrate their trustworthiness, and help guide their people and organizations through difficult or complex situations.
The importance of adaptability and looking ahead when it comes to recruiting, hiring, and searching for a job in the future of work in general, and during the pandemic as well.
And much more…
Ira S Wolfe is ranked by Thinkers360 as the #1 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers in Future of Work category, #3 in HR, and top 20 for Leadership. Ira has been described as a “Millennial trapped in a Baby Boomer body” and is the world’s first Chief Googlization Officer. He is also founder of the Googlization Nation community, host of the podcast Geeks Geezers Googlization and a frequent contributor to HR and business blogs including CornerstoneonDemand’s ReWork and Medium.
Guest Links:
To learn more about Ira and his work, you can visit his website and Success Performance Solutions. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and by emailing him at ira.wolfe@super-solutions.com.
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