The Century's Great Challenge

A report was released recently projecting the world's population by the end of this century will increase to 10 billion. This number is so high that it is difficult to really grasp. At present, the world's population totals 6.8 billion. Even that number, of course, is hard to appreciate, especially
when many of us on a day-to-day basis do not travel far beyond our own neighborhoods, townships or state borders. The limited perspective that represents the world to many of us stifles our ability to fully appreciate the struggles that many have each day in terms of sharing space, competing for resources, and trying to establish their own niche. Unless we actually experience or witness the challenges faced by others on this heavily-populated planet of ours, then the struggles of others remains little more than a vague reference. It is my sense that unless the struggles of others impacts us directly, then we generally give little thought to those that exist beyond our own landscapes.

This is not all that dissimilar to how it is with people within large organizations that continue to grow in numbers of employees. We are vaguely aware of the challenges of our fellow workers in another building or plant, for example, but unless what they are doing affects us directly, then the hoops they jump through each day, though similar to the ones we ourselves have to navigate, are not of much concern. Presently, the place at which I work boasts nearly 6,000 employees. Because of the growing size of my institution, periodically I hear people lament the fact they no longer know or engage with as many co-workers as they used to. Also, it is not uncommon in many of these conversation to hear comments that managers no longer seem to care as much as they used to be about the welfare of their workers and others throughout the organization. Is this true? Are today's organizational or corporate leaders actually less caring than their predecessors?

I don't think so. What I believe is happening to managers is what we as individuals in this ever-growing world of ours are experiencing. They and we are becoming more insular - perhaps without even realizing it - as a way of better coping with the vast and expanding world around us. By focusing more on what we directly see and experience, we feel more in-control of our own lives. Additionally, this helps us feel as if we still have the potential to actually influence that world around us. From a communication stand point, the challenge is two-fold: how best to help keep us more aware of and connected with the world that is beyond our day-to-day landscape and how best to help keep us adequately engaged with those with whom we do interact and potentially influence. This dual challenge represents and will continue to represent the great communication struggle of our century. It is a challenge in which both leaders or managers and workers and individuals must be involved as collaborators.