Over the last decade, I've had the privilege to work with the brilliant Christie Smith and Kelly Monahan while they were at Deloitte, and then again with Kelly as a future of work subject matter expert for Upwork, where she leads the Upwork Research Institute. When I learned they were writing a book together, I couldn't have been more excited, and Essential: has certainly delivered on its title. I recently sat down with Kelly for a Q&A to share more details about the book writing process and the 21st century leadership advice we can't afford to ignore.
How did you two meet each other and how did this collaboration come about?
Kelly: Christie and I met almost a decade ago at Deloitte. She and I began to partner on research together and figured out pretty quickly we enjoyed working together. I bring more of that analytical research thinking while she brings the executive strategic viewpoint. Our paths then crossed again at Accenture where we started kicking around the idea of a book, but the timing just wasn't quite right. Finally in 2023 we were both at a point to visit this collaboration again and as they say the rest is history!
Briefly, what's the origin story of Essential? Why did you both feel you were the right duo to write this book?
Kelly: I am using the Elmo fire GIF to describe the way most leaders feel today. Yes, leading teams and businesses have always been challenging. But what's different today is that there is disruption at nearly every level of society today. Whether it's working across distributed teams, dealing with the fast and furious AI developments, government changes and a generally burned out workforce coming out of a pandemic, there is a lot to manage. And, most leaders haven't been trained in the psychology of human behavior at work. We've taught a lot of leaders how to manage a P&L in a relatively stable environment, but haven't done a lot to help them navigate the needs of people in uncertain environments. So, we wanted to provide a research based look at helping leaders navigate the human side of business today. We feel we are the right duo because of generational differences. Christie is a seasoned executive representing the existing leadership paradigm that Baby Boomers have established. I represent the Millennial generation that has often challenged a lot of what Baby Boomers have normalized in business settings. Our hope in writing this together was to bridge the generational gap that we often experience in the workplace and bring both sides of the lived experience of work today.
An emotionally intelligent leader in the age of AI may at first seem counterintuitive. Why do you feel human-powered leadership is more important now than it has ever been?
Kelly: I think AI is challenging us to ask the fundamental question of what does it mean to be human today. When a lot of the cognitive work can know be done by AI, what should humans be doing. For so long we've used technology to do the same type of things faster and cheaper, but now it's time to upend what we know of work and ask newfound questions like how can organizations better meet the needs of their people? How can leaders suspend their self-interest so that more people thrive in our organizations? How do we optimize rather than maximize resources at the expense of people and planet? We are at a critical juncture in our shared human work experience and I think AI can cause us to ask even more human questions than we've done before.
Both of you have very deep research benches. Why do you think it's important for "future of work" people to have quantitative support for their forecasts?
Kelly: The reality is if you want to get a seat at the table you need to bring data. For too long the people movement have been overlooked by business executives and board rooms because they've failed to see the link between performance and meeting human needs. This is why we wrote Essential. We wanted them to have the data and science behind elevating humanity at work. At the end of day, yes it's the right thing to do, but as we laid out in the book, it is also the right business thing to do. Businesses that treat their people well outperform in the long-run those who don't.
If readers could remember one thing from Essential, what's the lesson you'd want to impart?
Kelly: Stay curious! The world is rapidly changing around us and we have to keep an open mind to rethink many of the norms of business today. Relationships, routines and resource allocation can all be done better if we change our frame about people at work. Most people today want to work; they just feel overlooked and forgotten in their work systems. Be the leader that sees their people and remains curious!
Thanks to Kelly (and Christie) and please check out Essential at your first opportunity!