We don’t work the same way anymore. Organizations are flattening, ideas are flowing faster and more freely, and motivation, engagement and promotion all have many more definitions than they used to. Among the biggest differences compared to years past is that today people aren’t afraid to ask for change and they aren’t afraid to look elsewhere if they’re not getting it from you.

1. How the Corporate Ladder Became the Corporate Lattice

In HBR Blogs, Cathy Benko, Vice Chairman and Chief Talent Officer at Deloitte (and co-author of The Corporate Lattice: Achieving High Performance in the Changing World of Work) writes that organizations need to be aware that the way we work is changing – and they need to adapt:

“Many of the old rules are still on the proverbial books but don’t fit as well, so we busily create point solutions and workarounds to smooth over the protruding edges between well ingrained ladder norms and today’s realities of how things really happen.”

A couple of quick stats to make the point:

• 20% of us don’t even go to a traditional office space every day.
• Organizations have become 25% flatter (fewer levels of hierarchy) over the past 20 years

Benko believes that “Technology is a big part of this, fundamentally changing how we interact inside and outside of work.” We agree: Software CAN change cultures.

In this evolving world of work, Benko likes the concept of a lattice because, in contrast to the traditional “ladder,” it represents a fluid, continuous and adaptive dynamic that more closely represents way we work today. Benko provides three examples of the lattice shift in our professional lives:

1. Careers: From Straight Up To Zig-Zag
2. Work: From Where You Go To What You Do
3. Participation: From Top-Down To All-In

2. From Ladder to Lattice

In HR Executive Online, Brazen Careerist’s Ryan Healy applies Benko’s concept of the lattice to today’s workforce, through the lens of Gen Y:

“The days of driving to the same office building, sitting in the same cubicle and working your way up the same corporate ladder are long gone. The new workplace — Generation Y’s workplace — is defined by rapid innovation, constant change and, most importantly, entrepreneurship.”

It’s true: by 2020, Gen Y will make up about 50% of the workforce (for more, check out our recent leadership webinar with Karie Willyerd, former Chief Learning Officer at Sun Microsystems). According to Healy, many companies have a lot of catching up to do: “The problem is, most companies are now years behind, and should be terrified that their top young employees are preparing to ‘take their talents to South Beach,’ as Lebron James famously did.”

However, there’s a glimmer of hope for companies that adapt to this new paradigm:

“Some companies are ahead of the curve, though. The best example I’ve found comes from Deloitte’s ‘Lattice’ organizational structure. The lattice doesn’t focus on moving up the ladder; rather, people move outward toward different work experiences and different departments where they can learn new skills, make new connections and stay relevant both in the organization and outside of it.”

Go Cathy Benko: “Deloitte has taken notice of the entrepreneurial shift that is happening right now, and they’ve done something to address it.” I agree: leaders and companies need to adapt if they want to win.

Photo of Lattice by fdecomite. Licensed under CC.