The Test of Leadership in Turbulent Times
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Australia’s last recession was 1992. Since then, we’ve had 30 years of relative comfort, punctuated by some significant local and global events.
But during the last 3 years, the rules have changed dramatically. Organisations now have to adapt to very high levels of uncertainty – economic uncertainty, market uncertainty, political and geopolitical uncertainty, and of course, climate uncertainty.
The one core competency that organisational leaders need in turbulent times is “the ability to stand on a moving deck.”
Imagine you are piloting a boat in choppy waters (not hard to imagine when you have the Pacific Ocean or Bass Strait close at hand). The last thing you need happening is losing your balance and falling overboard. Instead, you will need to be able to read the waves, adjust your balance, and pilot the boat quickly and deftly through the peaks and troughs you face.
An ‘Adaptive Culture’ gives you a much more responsive organisational boat that you can pilot confidently in turbulent conditions.
A ‘Resistant Culture’ gives you an organisational boat that will respond poorly and sluggishly to each instruction you give it. If the waves are flat, then it doesn’t really matter. Much of the last 30 years has been like that. But now, it matters enormously.
As a leader, you will need a personal ability to stand on your moving deck and you will need an Adaptive Culture that responds quickly to your leadership.
