Necessity instead of trend for companies in the digital era

If you want innovation and committed employees, you have to enable self-determination and good relationships: This is the basic tenet represented by Tina Ruseva, President of the Federal New Work Association. The entrepreneur, author and doctor of innovation manager explains in an interview with t3n how this can be achieved and what role managers play in this.

Power struggle in the world of work: “We go around in circles and forget people”

t3n: Ms. Ruseva, you say that our society and our economy need more community spirit in order to survive. How is this community spirit supposed to arise?

Tina Ruseva: Community spirit arises through community and a community from interpersonal relationships. They have tended to be lost in the previous discussion between rigid hierarchies and New Work. It is primarily about the distribution of power and the rules governing it.

First the power was in the executive suite, then as much of it as possible should lie with the team, now the executive suite will have more power back. We go around in circles and forget the people in between. What we need instead is a focus on a team culture in which we can meet as people on equal terms.

We must work together, beyond “working by the book.” I like to refer to this as “soft work”. We should ask ourselves: What motivates people to collaborate? And that is self-determination. Studies such as the New Work Experience Study show that young people, older people, career starters, those changing careers, not just home office, but simply everyone want autonomy and self-determination. So you don’t feel like you’re a cog in a big machine, but rather you feel like you’re taking part.

t3n: What does self-determination mean?

Self-determination in oneself measures a person in three aspects. There is currently the question of competence. Can I do my job well or will I just be thrown in at the deep end? Will I be supported during onboarding or will I be left alone with projects that I don’t really care about? If I have to do work without having the relevant skills, it might work well for a while, but at some point I’ll give up inside because I know it’s too difficult.

The second aspect of self-determination is autonomy. We find it incredibly difficult to ensure autonomy in our rule-based constructs. We meet for meetings just to get something done, but rarely for real workshops in a room with colleagues and post-its. What used to take place in eight hours on site is now condensed into two hours online. And we feel more controlled by others, for example because we are only allowed to speak at certain times or are given less space for gestures and facial expressions.

And the third aspect is social integration, the feeling that we are welcome as we are. This is the hardest thing for us to date because organizations have so far either enabled full autonomy or none at all – neither of which leads to social integration.

t3n: And how does self-determination now relate to our working relationships?

Healthy relationships are always voluntary and cannot be prescribed; It takes an independent, authentic interest and the participation of everyone. In addition, self-determination promotes team culture through healthy boundaries and exchange “at eye level”.
At the moment we understand from my point of view, but the concept of freedom in the group is not yet sufficient.

Autonomy is not the opposite of social integration, but a prerequisite for it. There are people who, for example, put themselves completely aside when it comes to volunteer work or social work, while others completely dissociate themselves from their job and only work for themselves. Neither of these makes sense. Ultimately, we can only experience meaning and shape the world as part of a group. And this is exactly what requires a healthy team culture in which interpersonal relationships can develop beyond the simple to-do list.

“Innovation is created together today”

t3n: The relationships also have to be built yourself. What responsibility then lies with managers?

Our job as bosses today is less to set the rules and more to enable good, productive working relationships. Unfortunately, almost no manager uses the term working relationships; they are more likely to talk about team atmosphere or corporate culture. These are collective terms, but our working relationships always take place one on one.

Of course, these relationships also depend significantly on ourselves, but they are always in the context of the organizational structure and are influenced by it and doomed to failure, for example by unfairness or orthodox ideas about performance and hierarchies.
It should be of interest to companies to break down such structures – because today innovation is created together and therefore depends on the relationships within the team.

t3n: What would be an example of how these relationships can be made possible?

The exchange car more often – directly and unbiasedly. Involve others in decision-making and design processes. For example, I am much more likely to create a relationship on an equal level with my new employee if I ask her about her opinion and needs regarding onboarding. It shouldn’t just be about the process, but more about the thing – its further development.

I have to allow my employees to work independently on projects, but also offer them the opportunity to network with one another in terms of time, space and organization. For example, if I ask, “Who are you having coffee with again?” or “Why are you studying this and that?”, “Don’t you have to do your work?”, then I clearly prioritize work. And yes, the work is important, but it will suffer long-term damage if the relationships don’t fit or aren’t allowed to develop at all.