Q&A: Stowe Boyd, Research Lead at Gigaom.com

Stowe Boyd’s business is the future of work. As a web anthropologist, futurist, and researcher, he analyses matters digital for tech analysts Gigaom Research. In his book, Leanership: A New Way Of Work, he focuses on the evolving workplace and the technological forces driving ever-faster change. He coined the term ‘hashtag’ in 2007.

What drew you towards a career in research?

I moved into research while studying computer science in grad school, and I have only moved away to be an occasional, and accidental, entrepreneur. As I work best independently, I am generally freelance, and that’s something that suits me.

What is the premise of Leanership, and what does it mean for employees?

Leanership is about emergent leadership, where people lead a specific project or activity before stepping down, allowing others to lead. In an organisation based on leanership, management isn’t a full-time job, but something that everyone does, some of the time. In the past I’ve likened it to a peloton in a cycle race, with different individuals taking the strain for the good of the group.

As individuals become more connected, informed and independent, could there be an effect on corporate strategy and vision?

In a more networked world of work, individuals will put their personal interests ahead of those of the company. They won’t subordinate their personal ends to those of the company. Instead, they will seek out those companies to work ‘for’ whose principles they agree with.

As a consequence, the strategy of the company changes, too, as its culture and ambitions are increasingly influenced by the blending of the personal interests of the many individuals there.

This is a break with conventional management, where one individual or elite group states the vision and direction of the firm, and the rest are supposed to follow it.

Do you think technology poses any risks for employment?

In some ways, there is the potential for that. If ‘big data’ winds up being a code for surveillance and control, then we have a problem. If ‘big data’ means transparent access to all sorts of information, then that could be the start of something good for the way we work.

And in terms of automated processes ‘taking people’s jobs’, we are seeing – and will continue to see – the hollowing out of routine work, even in the skilled jobs that overlap with what algorithmic or AI tools can accomplish.

What will be left from that will be people fulfilling roles in creative, non-routine, cognitive work. That’s good news for waiters (at the low end) and brain surgeons (at high end). But in the middle – non-creative, routine, formulaic work – it does look bad for human job prospects!

Author

Steve Weston

Chief Customer Officer, Hays

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Steve joined Hays in January 2008 as Chief Information Officer. His career began in Car Manufacturing in 1977 and he then moved into the Financial Services sector in 1987. In 1997 Steve moved into the IT services sector and held the position of UK Managing Director for Xansa plc until December 2007. Steve currently holds a number of roles at Hays including Chief Customer Officer.