What is the future in 2023?

As proud members of Gen X, my generation is now moving into leadership positions in our organizations. If the research is to be believed, this should mean that we would feel best and most aligned with our generational “values,” and create workplaces that celebrate independent, autonomous self-starters.

Yet if we take a look at the trends from companies already led by Gen-X’ers, we appear to see a shift back to more traditional, office-based workplaces; think Marissa Mayer at Yahoo. But is this what is really happening?

It’s all part of the evolution of the workplace towards being incredibly diverse, totally global, and largely virtual. This transformation won’t take place all at once and we won’t see a cataclysmic shift into an entirely new model. This is because it is not just about a change in the physical nature of our workplaces. Like all human systems, the workplace of the future will evolve into “new ways of working” that will create new rules of engagement and performance among diverse and global teams in uncertain, dynamic environments.

So, what does the workplace of 2023 look like?

There are already some interesting indicators of what we might see. New approaches and philosophies around work are emerging as a new generation of employees joins the workforce, companies globalize, and new industry sectors (technology, alternative energy, logistics/supply chain, finance and capital flow, etc.) mature into their own unique models of work.

There are five characteristics that will define the workplace of 2023:

1. It’s about accessibility, not presence: Marissa Mayer is right; get the right people connected to do the work that needs to be done. If you can’t get them connected in a way that makes sense for the organization, then bring them in house. There is plenty of technology to support remote work, but sometimes you just need to get people face-to-face to unlock the creativity and innovation needed to solve tough problems.

2. Every business is a start-up: Workplaces of the future will operate like start-ups with unclear governance structures, short time frames, and high expectations. These kinds of organizations will need to be managed with the same combination of hands-on guidance and flexibility that an angel investor employs in a start-up.

3. Culture, culture, culture: The workplace of 2023 will be diverse and multicultural. Table stakes for success will be inclusive leaders who understand how to leverage all of this diverse talent.

4. Communication is disintermediated: 10 years from now, nobody will communicate through a hierarchy unless absolutely necessary. Instead, they will take a message right to the recipient or broadcast it to everyone. Further, there will be plenty of technologies to get this done on all kinds of platforms.

Organizations will need to step back from the traditional notions of “working it up the chain” and allow employees to have conversations at any and all levels of the organization.

5. It is NOT about social media: In 2023, social media will be fundamentally embedded into the fabric of our private and professional lives. Workplaces of the future won’t worry about replicating social networks specifically for a work environment because communication will naturally flow that way. However, getting to this point will not be easy. Organizations will need to learn how to set boundaries while opening up the pathways for social networking and new ways of collaborating.

By 2023, my generation will be getting ready to step aside and allow today’s Gen Y’ers to grow into leadership roles. We know the nature of work in 2023 will evolve, but will our leaders evolve along with their workplaces as the generations shift?

David Lange is a partner at the strategic leadership boutique Pivot.