We’re living and working in a time of massive disruption driven by economic uncertainty, political unrest, and accelerated technology. Amid the chaos and noise in our current business environment, it can be challenging for leaders to provide their teams with the clarity, alignment, and security they need.
Here are 3 tips that will help you guide your team in an era of uncertainty and strengthen your business for the future.
Every industry is being disrupted, and every leader is forced to keep up. The conditions reshaping our economies, markets, and organizations will continue to push change in ways we can’t yet predict. And now more than ever, leaders must prepare for the potential near- and long-term impacts.
Leading in chaos requires us to face our fears, create new clarity, and take confident action. When a leader is able to navigate change effectively, they give their teams and organizations a tremendous competitive advantage and the best chance at sustainable success.
These three tips will help you guide your team in an era of uncertainty and strengthen your business for the future.
Tip #1: Embrace the Unknown
As disruption persists, so does the complexity we face. That complexity can paralyze an organization, rendering them incapable of advancing, growing, and flourishing. Or it can energize and inspire, leading them to novel, innovative ways of doing things.
Leaders and their teams are often fearful of embracing the unknown. You may be uncertain of the obstacles that lie in your path and what it will take to overcome them. You may be concerned that you don’t have the resources, capabilities, or resilience to face big challenges. But avoidance is a faulty tactic, and the leaders who are most successful at guiding their teams through chaos are unafraid to move into uncharted territory.
Amy Webb, Founder and CEO of the Future Today Institute (FTI), recognizes the fear that accompanies the chaos we’re working in today and encourages leaders to plow forward anyway. She has pioneered a data-driven foresight methodology that helps companies spot disruption early enough to turn risk into revenue.
As a quantitative futurist, Amy relies on data-driven models to uncover signals, qualify trends, and predict the probability of outcomes. She takes an opportunistic view of the future that is rooted in what we know to be true today. At Oslo Business Forum 2023, Amy will help leaders understand how to lean into the same type of scenario planning to combat their fear and embrace the unknown.
Tip #2: Hone Your Focus
Today’s leaders often feel like they’re being hit from the left, right, top, and bottom. Unanticipated problems and increased demands are creating noise all around us. The noise can be a distraction, but it also heightens our awareness of the need to take action.
The challenge, of course, is cutting through the clutter to determine which action to take. It’s necessary to hone your focus to avoid the overwhelm that can lead to paralysis (and, inevitably, failure). How? It starts by understanding that you don’t need to change the world; you just need to change your world.
Focusing on what you and your team can control is key to working through chaos. Look at what you can do, where your influence lies, and how you can change things for the better. This will enable you to establish priorities and set clear direction for your team. And creating this type of clarity and alignment often translates to more robust and sustainable solutions.
Tip #3: Develop the Capacity to Master New Skills
The most important skills for thriving in the future may not be specific skills at all. Rather, the most important skill for the future may be the capacity to unlearn the old and continuously master the new.
In chaos, you’re likely in a frantic search for people with the capabilities you believe you need for the future—a tall order in today’s exceptionally tight talent market. But perpetuating a focus on knowledge and technical know-how is one-dimensional and won’t help your business evolve into the future. Instead, consider an investment in your existing team. Developing their capacity to master new skills will prepare your organization to embrace new and emerging technologies while at the same time fulfilling people’s desire for learning and development.
Just as technology hasn’t achieved its full potential, neither have humans; the best way to withstand change is to develop untapped potential. The benefit is twofold: a more agile, adaptable organization and a more engaged, loyal workforce.
As leaders, how we respond to chaos and change today has a tremendous influence on the success or failure of our organizations in the future. Demonstrating a willingness to embrace the unknown, an ability to eliminate the noise around you, and the capacity to master new skills will empower your team to navigate change and thrive in chaos.
Key Takeaways:
- Chaos can either paralyze us or energize us. The leaders who are most successful at guiding their teams through change are unafraid to embrace the unknown.
- Change is creating noise all around us. The leaders who cut through the clutter and focus on what they can control are best equipped to lead through chaos.
- Leaders are in a frantic search for people with the capabilities they believe they need for the future. The leaders who develop their teams’ capacity to master new skills are best prepared to withstand uncertainty.
Questions to Consider:
- Do you fear the unknown or see untapped potential? What can you do to turn challenge into opportunity?
- Have you cut through the clutter to create focus for your team? How can you better eliminate distractions and convey priorities?
- Do you support your team members’ development, enabling them to master new skills?
Are you feeling overwhelmed by all the chaos in the market right now? Between war, energy crises, declining markets, inflation, increased interest rates, fake news, and the aftermath of a pandemic, it's enough to make anyone want to crawl under a rock and wait for things to blow over.
But let's be real, that's not exactly a winning strategy for success.
So what's the alternative? How do you not just survive, but thrive in the midst of all this chaos? The Oslo Business Forum 2023 has the answer. Join Oslo Business Forum 2023: Thriving in Chaos now!.jpg?width=680&height=472&name=CTA_Article_2023%20(1).jpg)