Working better together in uncertain times

3 Jun

By Dr. Gillian Shapiro and Katherine Handy-Woods

This question is live for us as we work together supporting clients to develop strategies that will serve them well over the next 3-5 years, knowing that what happens in the wider business and social context locally and globally is…. well…. unknowable. It’s live for us as the clients we work with are directly impacted by some of the unexpected changes and uncertainties in their professional and personal lives, as are we.

We’re sharing here some key aspects of our approach and how this applies to strategy work, what we’re noticing and learning. We’re curious to see if it resonates with you and what more we might learn together.

Our approach

A key feature of living in uncertain times is our ability to deal with the ambiguity of not knowing, not being able to predict the future. You might well say, ‘we have never been able to predict the future’ and you would be correct. However, the illusion of being able to to predict the future has been embedded into most businesses through approaches to strategy, planning and forecasting. Most large organisations have cycles of strategy setting and planning that ripple through their organisations, all rooted in the assumption that we can know what is going to happen rather than a frame of adaptability.

When we sit with uncertainty and truly embrace it, we need to think differently about how we work….

· Working with complexity instead of denying it

· Working with organisations as human systems instead of machines

· Working to embed learning and change into the organisational system instead of change being the exception to the status quo

What this means for strategy

Our approach to strategy development is seeing strategy as the vehicle for change in an organisation, drawing on the body of work on complexity, Dialogic approaches to organisational development and human systems dynamics. Our experience tells us that many aspects of this approach feel new and different and brings with it a mix of challenge and discomfort whilst at the same time, relief and energy.

Here are three core aspects of our approach and what we’re noticing.

Building collective understanding of the similar and different experiences of the current state.

We do this through powerful listening to diverse voices, using simple open questions bringing colleagues together across boundaries that sometimes keep them apart – role, function, country, hierarchy and identity groups.

We notice the relief and appreciation as people describe feeling heard, sometimes for the first time, realising that their experience isn’t unique to them or their part of the business and interest as they build greater understanding and connection to the whole.

Working with data in a way that reveals deep insights about the current state and therefore enables movement

Building collective understanding generates an immense amount of data. Instead of looking for themes and trends, we support our clients to develop INSIGHTS about themselves as an organisation, working with all of the data generated (anonymised of course) in its raw form.

We notice that this feels very different! It requires our clients to work not only with what they see but also with what they feel, drawing on and trusting their intuition. And then making sense and theorising about what’s standing out.

We also notice that, however many groups we run this with, whatever the mix of the groups, wherever they focus their attention on what stands out, the data leads them back to a common set of a few significant issues. This is when we know we’re getting to the nub of things.

Generating visuals that support a strategy that can adapt and respond

Instead of the traditional strategy, often depicted visually as a strong but static building with pillars, a roof and foundations, we support our clients to produce a strategy that is able to adapt and respond to changing contexts.

Our strategies are structured around Purpose, Opportunities and Principles (POP). The Purpose, or north star, provides intention and direction, even in the face of uncertainty. Principles give guidance on how to approach decisions to adapt, respond or change course when unexpected change occurs. Opportunities focus attention and resources on what will make the most difference and are the current priorities. As context changes, Opportunities might need to change. The Purpose and Principles support the necessary response.

To integrate strategy with day-to-day work, we generate strategic Gameplans, detailing objectives, projects, timescales, resources and impact measures. The Gameplans show how work between functions can integrate to tap into a single opportunity, showing the interdependencies of work and how it comes together as a whole.

Bringing strategy to life

This final part of our approach to strategy is the most obviously different from conventional approach. Typically, leaders and leadership teams go out into their businesses and tell people the strategy. They then sometimes wonder why they don’t get the results they’re looking for.

Our approach is rooted in creating a systemic approach to change that ripples throughout the organisation in continuous cycles. We do this by finding existing forums for conversation in which the strategy is continually referred to, plans are tested and refined, according to changing context, connections are made, and learning develops.

Patterns we’re seeing across organisations

With the benefit of working across organisations, we’re able to see the strategic imperatives emerging, not only within one client but across multiple clients. We’re seeing a pattern of focus on culture, leadership, performance, career and wellbeing with key issues including:

Culture How can we work together better with greater collaboration, creativity and learning? How can we create ways of working in which people thrive? How can we foster environments of trust, diversity and inclusion in which different views can be voiced and worked with to generate creative ideas and slutions?

Leadership How can we be more leader-full at all levels so that everyone feels equipped and empowered to respond and adapt?

Performance How can we do more with less and keep doing more with less in a sustainable way, where people thrive?

Career How can we support and satisfy growth and ambition with fewer resources and opportunities progress up hierarchical structures?

Wellbeing How can we develop ways of working that enable people to thrive rather than the overwhelm and exhaustion that pervades many workplaces at the moment?

Of course, we’re immediately curious if these are stand out issues in your organisation?

Next Steps - ‘the greatest challenge for leaders is to take the leap’

What stands out for us is that issues such as wellbeing and culture are rising to the surface as strategic imperatives. We’re reading this as a sign that the dominant view of organisations as machines that are predictable and controllable is being challenged as the conventional way of working that come with this mindset are proving limited in uncertain times.

This approach to strategy releases energy in the client systems we’re working in as people feel more connected and involved in the organisation. However, this approach confronts conventional thinking about organisations, strategy and change, and can be provocative, particularly for leaders who are rooted in top-down approaches. It’s not a one and done approach. It requires remaining in sensing and responding mode in relation to changing contexts. It also requires leadership teams to operate with connection and collaboration rather than in isolation and siloes. So, this is more challenging for a team that isn’t teaming yet to work in this way.

The greatest challenge is for leaders to take the leap. We see leaders and managers who’ve tried conventional approaches numerous times and know they don’t work, struggle to try something radically different because, when the pressure for performance is on, it can feel too hard to take a risk. When all around you is uncertain, do you hold onto the familiar and seemingly certain, or do you try something different?