“How can our leaders decide what is top priority in our New Reality, when the playing field is constantly changing?” – Deputy Head Leadership & Culture Development, Global Insurance
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Here are four steps that you can implement immediately:
Step One
Take a moment and step back to see which megatrends are visible or emerging. Seeing things from a distance provides us with the bigger picture, one where we may be able to see connections, and thus one that may not seem as unstable.
Step Two
Like Columbus in the middle of a restless ocean and surrounded by stressed out crews, you will need to find a fixed orientation, such as a “Polar Star”, to keep you on track while you navigate the waters. Think of your Polar Star as your personal or your organisation’s core purpose.
Step Three
Anything that supports your Polar Star journey is priority (important) while anything else is supportive (urgent). Create a matrix and start with what is both important and urgent, then go to important, then to urgent. Do not pay attention to the rest (as resources are limited).
Step Four
Communicate the items that are both urgent and important at least weekly, if not daily, so that your employees can also make the right decisions.
Find Your Polar Star
Where can you find your Polar Star? We believe that an organisation’s “raison d’être” is shaped by its customers. It is about connecting with them and meeting their needs with exceptional products and services.
Tip: involve not only the people from your organisation in the above steps, but also those external to your organisation. Beliefs based on the past make it difficult to see priorities in changing environments, so make sure to welcome ideas from the outside — involve external partners, suppliers and of course your customers in the conversation.
The conclusion is that in the New Reality, success will only be achieved by organisations that continually change, adapt and review. The only constant is change. Leaders must understand how to plan for change, lead change, push for change and pull for change. How to lead change for high performance results is an important competence for leaders and so should be a priority topic for development.
Let us know how you get on!
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