Opinion | Why leaders need confidence in uncertain environments
The latest research at UNSW Business School indicates there are six main ways a leader can improve how they are perceived
It is an ever-changing business environment which organisations are dealing with right now. As such they need to develop more adaptive and responsive leadership skills across the organisation.
Leadership is no longer simply the domain of our senior management teams. Our employees also need to be equipped to relate, connect and respond to challenges and opportunities.
However, leading an organisation in complex and uncertain times implies an ability to understand the patterns of cause and effect and connect the dots to uncover opportunities that are not yet clear. It involves the ability to perceive what is “over the horizon” of our current field of view accessing deep intuition and using imagination to envision the future point. It also frequently involves quickly responding when unpredictable events occur.
The digitisation of the economy, the fast pace of technology introduction, and new competitors with new business models are driving an environment that we define as volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA). Environments we think most of us can recognise.
This is not the approach taken in promoting leadership today, where we have grown used to evidence-based strategies based on past experience, rigid planning that does not take account of changing conditions and a drive to find the one right answer.
In an uncertain world where strategic direction is not so clear, experiments and options are common initiatives, and unpredictable events are occurring at a much higher frequency. In this world, strategic directions necessarily change – and this is contrary to the general expectation that top managers provide clear, unwavering direction.