From Ladder to Lattice: The New Workforce Imperative

By: Cathleen Benko and Anne Weisberg

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Synopsis: Scaling the corporate ladder has been the enduring gold standard for personal success since organizational hierarchy was invented at the beginning of the industrial age. However, a confluence of market and demographic forces in the past twenty years has compressed hierarchies, shortened the ladder, and reduced the qualified pool of high-potential employees available to climb it. Another set of business and societal influences has reshaped the American workforce in gender mix and diversity, and employee's views and experiences have changed markedly regarding what constitutes the good life. This chapter outlines the new workforce imperative and how mass career customization (MCC) will help business leaders realign their workplace norms and practices with the realities of today's nontraditional workforce.