Many organisations now find themselves in the eye of an economic storm which, for most established business leaders, isn’t new. However, what is different in the current volatility is the time it will take to solidify the new or next “normal” – if we ever have that level of certainty again. Let’s consider the range of strategies organisations adopt in the midst of disruption, and also disruption-specific leadership behaviours. Reflecting back to the most recent significant disruption in 2008, what I observed then was a range of strategic responses which broadly can be characterised into 3 approaches: ‘Back to basics’, ‘Get ready for the bounce’ and ‘Enable and equip’. Let’s look at these in more detail.
- Back to basics – Organisations rely on the application of established frameworks and tried and tested formulas, strip everything back to the fundamentals and adopt a survival mentality. Most leaders have adopted this strategy in their careers and, whilst it unfortunately comes with ‘tough’ calls – curtailment of discretionary expenditure and often involving painful short-term consequences for the people involved – it can protect the business and those who remain.
- Get ready for the bounce – A more calculated approach; playing the long-game and preparing for the recovery. An acceptance that performance will suffer but a calculated decision that this will be short-lived enough to “ride out”, and best position the organisation to exploit opportunities when the economy and market bounces. In the past, with a greater amount of certainty about the period of decline, this was an attractive strategy and one which could be perceived as a company sticking to its values and vision even in the most trying of circumstances.
- What I witnessed in 2008 was a greater use of a more offensive strategy which can be described as Enable and equip – pinpointing the capabilities required to succeed during disruption and fully equipping leaders to fuel performance and embrace, navigate and operate effectively. Such a response takes an assured leader who, in the eye of the storm, is prepared to pause and take a ‘hard look’ and make some targeted investment. Six months into this current disruption I am seeing even greater commitment to Enable and equip.
In order to execute Enable and equip, what are the capabilities which will ensure leaders can fuel performance in a period of disruption?
Disruption specific leadership behaviours
Leadership behaviours (whether by politicians, business leaders, or professional and sporting bodies) over the last 6 months provide organisations with a live and vivid case study into which behaviours best allow people to navigate disruption. The range of effectiveness in how different leaders have navigated the disruption has been vast and provides much food for thought. However, the two characteristics which stand out are: a leader’s capacity to make decisions, and their ability to think clearly and not be overly swayed by either overly positive or doom-laden emotions.
- The ability to make sound decisions in an unfamiliar environment This requires an advanced cognitive capability to interpret and grasp non-sequential and underlying patterns, and to stimulate and apply new ideas which as yet haven’t been fully validated. To act confidently by utilising and applying a blend of intuition together with a disciplined approach to evaluating the long-term consequences of your actions. The high degree of disruption requires informed decisions at a fairly brisk pace. The capacity to make sound decisions in an unpredictable and unfamiliar environment differs from that required when the data and horizon are more certain. How well equipped are your leaders to make sound decisions at pace? How significant are the consequences and risks of them making more than their fair share of decisions?
- Clear mind British Olympians have long been trained to TCUP (think clearly under pressure). The unique economic elements of the pandemic are disruptive enough, even before any Brexit uncertainties, and the well-being threat this poses and its extended impact on non-work life imparts a substantial ‘cognitive load’, and is challenging even the coolest of customers. This load has the potential to cloud our judgement, place decisions on fast forward, and inhibit both our ability to tune into the emotions of our people and to remain focused. A common pitfall during overload is that leaders and organisations get stuck in an all-or-nothing mindset and it can be too easy to be overly optimistic or sceptical about what can/cannot be achieved. A real premium is placed on those leaders who can think clearly and energise others to take ownership for the strategy and decisions.
High Intensity Coaching Programme
Over lockdown one of the accelerated trends has seen people adopting a variety of virtual High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) to achieve a more ideal weight and improved fitness. The theory underpinning these approaches is that it will deliver better results in less time as long as you are precise about your goals, you engage in high intensity activity for short durations, you are disciplined to participate in regular activity and you track progress. If these principles work for Physical well-being could they also apply to leadership development? Over the last 12 months I have started to adopt a High Intensity Coaching (HIC) model focused on:
- Targeting specific and relevant disruption-specific leadership behaviours
- Greater use of objective and validated assessments which forensically pinpoint strengths and gaps
- More frequent, short and focused coaching sessions
- More emphasis on action learning, coaching individuals to apply fresh tactics and behaviours to disruptive situations and problems
- A shift away from the more usual formulaic coaching approach, to an agile format focused on leading in a disruptive environment
If you would like to discuss this further please drop me an email at mike@pilkingtonleadership.co.uk
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