Michael Lissack
These traditional signposts served multiple purposes simultaneously. They recognized individual contribution, established territorial bound- aries, created navigational guides for organizational members, and rein- forced power structures. Their physicality made them relatively stable— changing the nameplate on an office door required deliberate action. Today’s digital environments have fundamentally transformed these dynamics. Consider the modern digital workspace, where recognition and boundary markers take forms unimaginable just decades ago: A software engineer’s contribution is recognized through her commit history in GitHub repositories—a digital record of her specific code con- tributions visible to collaborators worldwide. A project manager’s territory is marked through permissions in project management platforms—deter- mining who can create, modify, or approve specific workflows. A customer success representative’s effectiveness becomes visible through aggregated feedback scores from hundreds of client interactions—creating reputation metrics that follow them across roles and teams. These digital signposts differ from their physical predecessors in sev- eral critical ways. They’re often more dynamic, updating in real time rather than through periodic formal processes. They’re frequently more granu- lar, recognizing specific contributions rather than general performance. They’re increasingly algorithmic, generated through automated systems rather than deliberate human decisions. And they’re typically more per- sistent, creating digital traces that remain visible long after physical mark- ers would have disappeared. Understanding these transformed signposts isn’t merely an academic exercise—it’s essential for creating environments where people can orient themselves, receive meaningful recognition, and collaborate effectively in increasingly complex digital landscapes. Recognition in Networked Organizations In traditional hierarchical structures, recognition flowed primarily from supervisor to subordinate. Annual reviews, promotions, and formal
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