In the past few months, what have you been experimenting with and learning from it, CEO at Mitte, Elina Huumo?
The way we work today is changing profoundly. New jobs & roles emerge, while others decline or disappear completely. Yet, the single most striking evolution of the past two decades may well be the rise of freelancers in Europe. Over 22 million workers are self-employed. Freelancers are the fastest-growing segment of the European labor market. Management consulting, strategic design and interim executive roles are most in demand when it comes to trending freelance services.
This made me think about the reasons and the effects of the recent development in business life. What I found was that the ultimate best way to understand the phenomenon is to try it for yourself.
I made the choice in early 2021 to start working as an independent strategic designer focusing on digital transformation, growth strategies, effective organizations, and operating models. I have been privileged to work in super professional teams with high diversity. I have been writing a diary every day to speed up my learning. Here are my key insights when working as a freelance strategic designer:
1. Focus on value creation: I can concentrate on the work that creates true value for the client organizations and employees. Part of my secret sauce has been that I become a true team member with the client organization which really boosts the results.
2. Making things happen: Creating impact also for the environment or society makes me very motivated. As a side effect, motivated designers spread good energy around the organization which must have ingredients to make the change happen!
3. The continuous joy of learning: As an integral contributor to the company’s strategic objectives, I can learn the industry efficiently. Through various project experiences and continuous self-training, I have the possibility to become true experts in the field of digital transformation, growth strategies, knowledge management, and data & design-driven organizations.
4. Sharing the toolbox: The challenges vary in different organizations, but they all need a systemic approach. I have had the opportunity to broaden my problem-solving toolbox more than ever before. To name a few, data visualization tools, design tools, customer-centricity frameworks, co-creations tools, concepting tools, business tools, and argumentation tools are in everyday use and that is inspiring!
5. Efficiency: Now more than ever, companies need to respond quickly to changes in the market environment and understand the impact of new competitors and technologies. The agility of the organization is one of the key components for efficiency: the right people doing the right things at the right time make freelance strategic designers a powerful choice for companies. And when the needs are changing, there are even more fit-for-purpose freelancers for that job available.
How to best lead and manage scattered and diverse teams in the right direction? How to foster collaboration in a virtual environment? How to be more agile in a world of uncertainty? These questions need to be solved during autumn 2021.
I believe that in many ways, freelancers can be spearheading a new way of thinking about work and organizations can become open networks or ecosystems of talented individuals who collaborate on projects and flash organizations. My experimentation is still in progress – more about the results later!
In the meanwhile – enjoy your summer and don’t hesitate to drop me a message! Would be great to compare notes around this topic.
Thank you Elina for your interesting learnings!
Small experiments and inspiration 