Choppy Waters Need Steady Hands
During the past two years, all types of organizations, from small non-profits to corporate giants, have experienced enormous upheaval. Keeping a steady hand on the tiller as you face and adapt to the changes that appear, and paying attention to opportunities, are vital to how you capitalize effectively on setbacks. It is crucial that leaders cultivate the most productive approach on how to deal in-the-moment, and yet maintain the long-term view on how to stay the course.
When leaders live the organization’s mission and values, a route to productivity and strength can be maintained. The values embedded in the missions of schools, for example, place students, typically, at the center. Common language from these schools’ missions describe: joyful, active learning, intellectual adventure, academic excellence, inspiring students, having students be part of a better world, learning through literacy and gaining a passion for learning. It is the mission that will provide direction and solace during tough times and recall why we do what we do.
In schools and other organizations, the mission and values are enhanced by the strategy set to implement success. While mission might be the constant, strategy is the “how” and the path to implementation. Particularly in these current times, it is the approach to strategy that requires an even keel, navigating the choppy waters. John Kotter, a former professor at Harvard Business School and noted expert on innovation says, “Strategy should be viewed as a dynamic force that constantly seeks opportunities, identifies initiatives that will capitalize on them and completes those initiatives swiftly and efficiently.” Continuing to operate on a strategic, big picture level during the current time of uncertainty is vital to the success of all institutions, and for some firms it may mean the difference between success and failure.
As an approach to dynamic strategic thinking, in the 1960s, Royal Dutch Shell became known for its development of scenarios that could describe typical situations or conflicts that might happen. Over decades, the development of these scenarios became a part of the culture of Shell. However, the company soon realized that the scenarios could not predict the future; they could rather “provide a deeper foundation of knowledge and self-awareness in approaching the future.” Shell learned that working on these scenarios encouraged criticism and the development of judgement during key times of change that required adaptability. In other words, developing systems and structures that draw the company’s attention to what is happening, and how it is different, provide opportunity for growth and needed change.
And so, another way of understanding what is happening now, might be to see this as facing a new reality, not just a momentary jolt from the norm, but a seismic shift into new and unknown territory—scenarios are being created before our eyes. Scenarios and situations that challenge the course we have set. To develop the necessary self-awareness and judgement, developing a set of generative questions might help: Are there new approaches that leaders and team members might discover? As the going gets tough, have we found approaches that alleviate rather than increase our stress? Does the pace of change affect us negatively or can we embrace it? When we feel a loss of control, can the organizational culture respond helpfully? How do our organizations balance out the good and the necessary and remain true to their mission?
For leaders to keep a steady hand during times of change, paying attention to members of their work community and how they are faring will also be worthwhile. When employees, at all levels, feel the stress of institutional change, for example, it may make sense for leaders to pay attention to what they are doing well—rather than adding more to their plate. Now is the time, perhaps, to acknowledge good performance, not just pay attention to low or outstanding performance. Consider a closer look at the range of good performance in your organization—are you calling it out, honoring it? In doing so, are you highlighting the importance of what employees do in the realm of your mission and strategy? Paying attention to any internal stressors at play is also part of the process of staying the course—good communication, managing and rewarding good performance, helping people adapt to change through mentoring and coaching, setting priorities within the changing environment and gaining a higher sense of purpose, should all help the climate within be resilient.
It may seem obvious to say that we are all engaging with a new reality, a time when side-stepping issues or buying time—waiting out the storm—just may not work. This “new normal” is arguably no different from other enormous changes that we have faced over the past 30 years. What might be different, and what might benefit leaders, however, will be to adopt useful approaches, skills and habits that embrace and manage the shift. Understanding the current reality, and harnessing the strategy to seek the opportunity presented, are at the core of organizational sustainability and success.
RESOURCES:
https://www.cpajournal.com/2021/06/01/reimagining-strategic-vision-for-nonprofits/
https://hbr.org/2013/05/living-in-the-futures