#1 The Future of Work Needs Quartermasters
Who they are, why they're needed today, and some familiar faces to inspire us to think and act bigger than ever
Same Old Mistakes
The future of work has been stuck in a doom loop for three years, embodying the infamous but misattributed Albert Einstein quote, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Next month, we will witness - or experience - the third edition of September back-to-school motivated Return to Office efforts. By the end of 2023, the data will likely reaffirm what we already know:
Return to Office efforts barely budge in-office occupancy rates
Desk workers (those of us who work “9-5” jobs) continue to experience burnout at unprecedented rates
Being back in the office doesn’t mean teams are spending time together, thanks in part to our common nemesis, back-to-back meetings
But hey, at least we survived the “lure people back to the office with pop stars” phase of RTO, right?
Got to be some changes made
I’m betting on the rule of thirds working in our favor, that this third RTO September will finally shake some things loose. I’m betting that 2023 is the year we reach the critical mass needed to short-circuit this rinse-and-repeat cycle. I’m betting that the time is right, and we can build systems and structures that allow businesses and their employees to thrive together, proving that positive-sum dynamics are worth fighting for.
First, we need to get out of the weeds. The future of work is boundless, and yet we’ve been stuck focusing on getting butts back in seats somewhere in a corporate office building since 2020. Return to Office is a drop in the vast bucket of the future of work. We need to think bigger.
Second, we must look around and think once we get out of the weeds. What’s everyone else doing? What’s important to those teams? How does it affect my work? How does my work affect theirs? Most organizations are so siloed that people defend what’s theirs and aren’t incentivized to consider the interoperability of their work with other departments
And third? Look for the quartermasters, those who observe, adapt, and respond; find sense and meaning in uncertainty. They’re the ones who can help us see the forest through the trees.
They call me The Seeker; I've been searching low and high
Quartermaster is a far cry from an everyday term, but I’m also betting that more of us identify with the characteristics of a quartermaster than we’d expect.
In the truest sense, quartermasters are senior soldiers or military officers. They are one of the most crucial players in forecasting necessary supplies for excursions leveraging several disparate data sets - which can change in an instant - to guide decision-makers with insights that allow them to make informed decisions.
Quartermasters are the ones connecting the obscurest of dots and threading the finest of needles. They’re the ones who can see how one decision can influence the following three decisions, either by experience or by a series of “if this, then that” mental calculations.
They understand the nature of work like a horologist understands the intricate gears and dials necessary for a watch to tick and how to zero in on why one is running too slow. They understand the interdependencies across business and an employee’s experience at work like a chess master understands the board and all the possible moves at their disposal regardless of their opponent's skill. They understand the workplace is defined by so much more than just four walls of an office in the same way bakers understand that, without all the ingredients in all the correct measurements in the just-right environment, the soufflé will always fall flat.
In business terms, a quartermaster is most similar to a super-charged generalist with a broad reach across multiple disciplines to help executives make informed decisions. These people exist; think about executive chiefs of staff, corporate strategy teams, or even the glossiest consultancies. But their focus tends to lie in areas that don’t directly influence how work gets done within an organization. (More on that some other time.)
Won’t you please, please help me?
The future of work is a behemoth of a concept that spans every discipline, yet industries are scrambling for ownership, focusing on the wrong things. (Looking at you, real estate). This struggle to center ourselves around the real issues, prioritizing the red herring distractions, is like going to the Renaissance or Eras tours and only staying for the opening acts (blasphemy). It cuts our noses off to spite our faces.
What fails to be internalized - not just by the real estate industry, for the record - is that there is only a successful future of work with successful employees.
The list of reasons this logic hasn’t sunk in yet is long (more on that another time, too), but that’s where the quartermasters come in. We need our quartermasters - both expert and unrealized - to be the connective tissue between the disciplines, translating nuances, negotiating priorities, and letting the specialists and subject matter experts go deep, creating order out of chaos.
They’re our historians - telling us what’s been done, what’s worked, what hasn’t - and our litmus test for today, so we have a sense of what can be managed in the current situation. Their presence is essential in times of uncertainty. Regardless of academic background, title, or tenure, we must foster these skills in others and hone our own nascent abilities. There’s an exponential benefit to having more of us embracing this mindset.
A little less conversation, a little more action, please
Embracing a new path like this can be hard to do without beacons to guide the way.
Listing attributes of the people who think and act like quartermasters might be helpful to some people. Still, since quartermasters don’t have name recognition outside of the military, it can be hard to visualize the concept the way that many people can’t conjure what an empty apartment would look like with their belongings making it a home.
Thankfully, pop culture can come to our rescue. Characters from some of the most popular films and tv shows demonstrate what it’s like to be a quartermaster, either as a confident, seasoned expert or someone beginning to recognize and embrace their capabilities and the responsibilities that come with them.
Consider the characters who sit at the intersection of the mentor and best friend archetypes. They’re not the main character, per se, but their power and influence is evident. Protagonists trust them and rely on them; these are quartermasters.
While the demeanor and portrayal of each of these characters are distinct, they’re all united by their innate abilities to toggle between the big picture and the tiny acts that can create [practical and fantastical] magic for everyone to benefit from and teach others to do the same, so mutually beneficial goals can be reached.
Nothing can stop us now
The first three years of this decade have produced plenty of ideas but only a few strategies and fewer courses of action. Now, more than ever, we must sharpen the quartermaster skills within us and build the connective tissue that ties ambitious, visionary ideas to the tactical steps required to make them happen.
Creating a positive-sum future of work is possible, but it is a truly Herculean task. The future of work is one of the many crises society faces today, and it will likely be the most responsive to our collective power, allowing for the scale to tip in favor of positive-sum outcomes most quickly.
Success lies in our collective ability to shift the narrative and reinforce our ideas with practical, measurable plans to chart this new course.
The enthusiasm for change and exasperation with the present situation is evident across social media, news coverage, and day-to-day spaces. The challenge is that most people don’t know where to look or how to get started.
I started The Workplace Strategist newsletter to help us make sense of the chaos around this crucial aspect of our lives. Together, we can take on this big, fascinating problem, refusing to let this good crisis go to waste.
Until next time,
Corinne
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