For CEOs and Senior Managers, providing leadership, guidance and support over the last few weeks has probably been the most demanding scenario they’ve ever experienced.
The COVID19 pandemic will have stretched people’s capabilities, confidence and capacity to their limits (and that’s putting to one side the extra demands of a variety of personal circumstances).
And now, there’s a clamour for the ‘new normal’. What exactly does that sound bite mean? It’s a neat little phrase that has caught on throughout the media, government and even every day language, but is there such a thing?
It implies there will be a clearly identifiable, single set of circumstances that will settle into something predictable. How realistic is that?
In my view, it’s much more likely that the future will be a succession of changing scenarios requiring charities and SMEs to be adaptable, flexible and change-able so they can respond and react to a continually changing landscape. It’s often summarised as VUCA - volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.
For charities and SMEs to be ready for this environment there will need to be a dramatic ramping up of skills, awareness, networking and collaboration. It’s not that they have necessarily been lacking in these activities, it will be the speed and scale that’s different.
Decisions will have to be made without perhaps all of the data you might like, the range of outcomes might be imperfect or difficult whichever you choose, the challenge of retaining the confidence and engagement of customers, employees, volunteers, beneficiaries, regulators and the general public will demand extra time and effort. The challenges are huge.
The good news is that tpeople have shown themselves to be amazingly resilient, adapting to previously unforeseen demands in short order.
It’s also true that the leaders of charities and SMEs know for sure, that however good their organisation is today, tomorrow it will need to be better.
iandi supports charities and SMEs in a unique way. We help leaders to see their organisation differently, to see how all of its components connect, affect and interact with each other. The result is joined up thinking, at speed in a way that maximises the odds of strong positive outcomes while minimising the unintended consequences or unwanted outcomes from every change you bring forward.
Our experience, your knowledge and the active involvement of your people is a powerful combination to meet the challenge of the VUCA world and we’re ready to help.
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