In this blog, Deborah Hulme, Director of Minerva Engagement examines the implications for leadership development and the need to power-up change leadership in the face of rapid and continuous change.
THE UNCERTAINTY SURROUNDING OUR ‘NEW NORMAL’ PLACES INCREASED DEMANDS ON LEADERSHIP
When Covid hit, within an instant our teams were dispersed across many different locations, all subject to change and uncertainty, and increasing the demand for robust, effective leadership to navigate and lead us forward.
The reality was one of unprecedented change, so much so that even the phrase ‘unprecedented change’ itself has become a cliché. Every aspect of who we are as human beings from work life to social life and from family life to hobby life was put to the test. In the space of a few short weeks everything changed and, whilst we all dreamed of the time we can ‘get back to normal’, the reality is that the new ‘normal’ comes with a huge amount of uncertainty. like.
So many things have shifted and changed. We didn’t, as some might have expected, resume where we left off, leaving many of us struggling and striving to navigate a way forward.
TO THRIVE RATHER THAN SURVIVE REQUIRES NEW MINDSETS AND BEHAVIOURS
All-in-all there is barely a person in the world who has not been directly or indirectly impacted by fallout from Covid. As leaders there’s never been a more important time to invest in taking care of ourselves and building and developing relationships to connect and collaborate with one another.
To thrive rather than survive in the face of rapid and continuous change requires the ability to flex and change everything from our systems and processes to how we lead and communicate, developing the behaviours and mindsets required to meet the demands of the new world. Many of us were on the way pre-Covid, the difference now is that ‘nice to have’ no longer exists.
GOOD LEADERSHIP RIPPLES THROUGH TEAMS AND MAKES A TANGIBLE DIFFERENCE AT EVERY TOUCHPOINT
As leaders we will need to call on the skills of leadership rather than management. That is not to say management is not important. It is, and it is needed, however, it is not leadership. Leadership is a discipline in its own right. Leadership is grounded in the competencies of performance, agility, innovation and collaboration, it is developed and practiced over time and it protects, fuels and fires the energy within our organisations in ways management does not.
The question is, do we have the skills, patience or inclination to make it work? It is very easy to tell someone what to do or just take a task off them and give it to someone else. It is much harder to engage and empower, to let go, to listen rather than tell, to allow others to learn and develop, to bring their ideas and share their thoughts. When we power-up change leadership, we adopt a different kind of practice; a more human-centric approach to leadership.
By applying the principles of neuroscience to our leadership practice, we develop a deeper understanding of ourselves as individuals and of those around us. We are more able to regulate our own levels of stress, anxiety and emotion, and more attuned to spotting the signs in those we lead. We are equipped to be more resilient, enabling us to be the calm and steady guiding force in times of uncertainty. We also know how to build from past experiences, and what is required to engage and motivate our teams for greater collaboration and innovation.
Good leadership ripples through teams and makes a tangible difference everywhere it touches. It relies on our ability to unlock our emotional, social and attentional intelligence, how to embed powerful habits for effective change, and how to power-up team resilience and productivity. In an uncertain world, one thing is for certain, successful organisations will need to power-up their leadership if they are to flourish in the future.
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 in the 21st century. 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
