This is a question every leader of any business (for profit or non-profit) of any size and any industry or market needs to regularly ask themselves. It is a critical question in that it establishes the very reason a leader earns the privilege of being called a leader.
...is a privilege.” As the year progresses, we find ourselves having consistently more conversations with our client leaders around the stresses of leading in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) business environment. So much so that we will make it the core topic of this month’s discussion. The title of this edition comes from a YouTube video a client recently referred to us in which the actor, Tom Hiddleston, used the phrase in a sports context. However, we believe it also sets up a broader discussion around the stresses of leadership.
...what he thinks he already knows.” This business cycle has already generated a multitude of discussions among leaders from all types of businesses on how to navigate the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) business environment. From individual client leaders to groups of leaders in the multiple leadership institutes we facilitate, the challenge is always how they think about, or frame, the challenges in front of them. In past articles, we tended to focus on critical thinking as the core answer to these challenges. However, in this discussion, we step back a bit and focus on a broader view of the challenges through the lens of systems thinking. In our book, “ Finding the Missing Piece , The Impact of Effective Communication on Sustainable Success”, we define systems thinking as a holistic approach focusing on how a system’s components work together, how a system operates over time as well as how it operates in the context of other larger systems. It is the foundation of our organizational Business Alignment Maturity Model ( BAMM ) we use when coaching business leaders. In the leader conversations, we hear challenges of finding THE problem to solve that will help generate desired results.