We can no longer solve problems through rigid organisational systems. It is our ability to adapt, collaborate and to execute continually evolving plans that will enable us to flourish in a VUCA world.
OUR VUCA WORLD DEMANDS A YET MORE EVOLVED APPROACH TO HOW WE LEAD
It was in 1961 that Warren Bennis first introduced his revisionist theory of leadership and was widely credited for transforming leadership into a respectable academic discipline. Since then we have evolved our learning through situational leadership, transformational leadership, leading with emotional intelligence and more recently, building on the work of Jack Zenger, the role of leader as a coach.
Today, our volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous – or VUCA – world demands a yet more evolved approach to how we lead. One where ideas and the ability to connect are more important than knowledge. We are in the middle of a seismic shift where the balance of power between organisations and people is changing as the way we do things swings from hierarchy to network.
As we navigate through a disruptive world, we can no longer solve problems through rigid organisational systems. It is relationship, influence, curiosity and our ability to harness the motivation and energy of those around us that matters.
TO SUCCEED TODAY WE MUST BE PREPARED TO ACCEPT VULNERABILITY IN THE FACE OF NOT KNOWING
We operate in an environment where our teams, and different companies, come together from all over the world, collaborating virtually to accomplish things we would never have dreamed possible even a decade ago. And we disband those teams just as rapidly, as we re-form and regroup across different geographies and projects, to address ever changing needs and requirements.
To succeed today we must be prepared to accept vulnerability in the face of not knowing. Be prepared to develop new skills, attitudes and competencies. Be prepared to do the groundwork to strengthen our mental, physical and emotional selves.
IT IS OUR ABILITY TO ADAPT, COLLABORATE AND TO EXECUTE CONTINUALLY EVOLVING PLANS THAT WILL ENABLE US TO FLOURISH
It is our ability to adjust and adapt, to collaborate in the moment and to execute continually evolving plans that will enable us to flourish. Harnessing the latent creativity, ideas and innovation within our teams and networks is how the answers, and also the unknown questions, will be identified.
Research from the sciences in human potential is revealing practical ways for us to develop and extend our capabilities and there is now enough evidence to suggest that the brain has a lot more to do with reshaping our behaviours than we may have originally thought.
As we build our knowledge of brain, mind and body we learn how to develop our mental fitness to perform, create the collaboration framework to get the best from constantly changing groups, spark the Innovation required to determine where growth can occur and encourage the agility to weave strategy and implementation together in interacting experiments of learning.
We will flourish as we learn how to better manage our physiological self and access not just our IQ but also our social, emotional and spiritual intelligences. It takes a willing yet disciplined mind to learn a different way of being, however, it is all there for us, if we choose to grow, choose to learn and choose to lead in our disruptive VUCA world.
Our online Power-Up Change Leadership course brings the latest knowledge from the behavioural sciences and is designed specifically to support leaders as they develop the skills and capabilities to flourish and lead change in a VUCA world. You will learn the techniques and steps to successfully apply the learning day-to-day, developing your own change playbook for practical application and impact within a changing business environment. For more information click here or contact jennie.flower@minervaengagement.com
