数字自由挑战：追求工作的自由

    过去十年中，数字、社交和移动技术极大地扩展了个人自由的范围——人们可以自由地联系全球各地的任何人；自由地做出贡献，根据价值、而不是地位发挥真正的影响力；自由地创造和表达自己；自由地选择买什么东西、加入什么组织、从事什么工作；自由地迎接挑战、畅所欲言、发起反击和奋起反抗。

    由于数字技术和社交媒体的出现，我们在个人生活中的选择比以往任何时候都多；但是在工作中并没有那么多选择。可以肯定的是，许多公司都采用了“企业2.0”技术和工具，鼓励公司内部的合作和外部人士的参与。但是很少有证据表明，这些新工具扩大了员工的自主权。

    这并不令人惊讶。绝大多数的组织根据官僚主义的实践和原则运行，致力于最大限度地实现标准化、专业化、可预见性以及效率。换句话说，我们大多数的组织致力于控制——控制人员、控制信息，以及控制预算。

    控制是至关重要的手段，但是对标准和合格的过分追求会破坏能够在21世纪取得成功的这类创新。为了应对残酷无情的变化、压低利润的竞争和所有领域的商品化，领导者必须把注意力从最大限度地减少标准偏差转移到释放员工的潜能。与此同时，领导者必须变得更加真实和透明。

    为了建立适应能力强、改革创新和积极参与的组织，个人需要自由。他们必须能够追逐自己的激情，尝试全新的理念，忽视层次结构，投入较小的赌注，挑战传统思维，选择自己的工作，甚至可能选出自己的领袖。

    如果工作中没有自由，人们就不会有多少主动性、创造性或者激情。这就是为什么自由不能成为奢侈品；自由不能成为零星施舍的特权。自由是人们的权利。当然，伴随自由而来的还有责任。但是在实践中，大多数企业都看重责任，却轻视自主权。要打造一家在创意经济中蓬勃发展的公司，个人需要以下的自由：

    联系的自由。通常来说，一个人合作和交流的范围由组织“卷筒”和具体的分工来确定。这让个人和创意相互隔离。有时，如果你想和特定领域外的人联系，就得推动创意超越扼杀动力的行政管理系统。社交媒体则提供了直接透明的人际联系。

    做贡献的自由。很多组织中个人的专长都受到了限制——人们所做的贡献与他们的正式头衔或级别紧密相连。因此，才华横溢或充满热情的人与他们的“日常工作”并不匹配。最好的情况下，他们被剥夺了做贡献的机会；在最坏的情况下，他们甚至会因为涉足其他领域而受到惩罚。如果员工能够获得难得的机会，跨越组织界限而做出贡献，他们往往会在组织中晋升到精英阶层。许多员工希望能够在组织中获得更大的发言权和参与度。领导者只有了解如何发挥和利用这种能力，才能获得成功。

    Over the last decade, digital, social, and mobile technologies have greatly expanded the scope of personal freedom—the freedom to connect with anyone anywhere in the world; the freedom to contribute and to make a real impact on the basis of merit rather than position; the freedom to create and express oneself; the freedom to choose what to buy, what to join, what to work on; and the freedom to challenge, to speak up, to push back, to rise up.

    Thanks to digital technologies and social media, we have more choice than ever in our personal lives; but at work, not so much. To be sure, many companies have adopted "Enterprise 2.0" technology and tools to encourage internal collaboration and engagement with outsiders, but there's little evidence that these new tools have expanded employee autonomy.

    That's no surprise. The broad majority of organizations operate according to bureaucratic practices and principles designed to maximize standardization, specialization, predictability, and efficiency. In other words, most of our organizations are designed for control -- controlling people, controlling information and controlling budgets.

    Control is important, but all too often the pursuit of alignment and conformity undermines the sort of innovation that leads to success in the 21st century. To respond to the relentless waves of change, margin-crushing competition, and the commodification of everything, leaders must shift their focus from minimizing deviations from the norm to unleashing their employees' capabilities. At the same time, leaders must become more authentic and transparent.

    To build an organization that is adaptable, innovative, and engaging, individuals need freedom. They must be able to pursue their passions, experiment with new ideas, ignore the hierarchy, make small bets, challenge conventional thinking, choose their work, and maybe even elect their own leaders.

    Without freedom at work, there will be little initiative, creativity, or passion. That's why freedom can't be a luxury; it can't be a privilege doled out in tiny increments. Freedom is a right. Of course, with freedom comes responsibility. But in practice, most organizations are long on accountability and short on autonomy. To build a company that can thrive in the creative economy, individuals need

    The freedom to connect. All too often, a person's sphere of collaboration and communication is defined by organizational silos and sharply defined roles. This isolates individuals and ideas. Sometimes the only way to connect with people outside of your particular sphere is to try to push your idea up and over the momentum-killing chain of command. Social media offers direct, transparent, person-to-person connection.

    The freedom to contribute. In too many organizations, an individual's expertise is assumed -- what a person has to give is closely linked with their formal title or level. As a result, people with a talent or passion that doesn't align with their "day job" are, at best, denied the opportunity to contribute, and at worst, penalized for dabbling in other areas. And when employees are given the rare opportunity to contribute across organizational boundaries, they are often designated in an elite class of their own. Many workers long to have a greater voice and participation at their organization. The leaders who figure out how to unleash and harness this energy will win.