In today’s turbulent times, how does building “resilience-enabled leadership” set the stage for success?
The following discussion paper introduces the topic of “Resilience-Enabled Leadership”. Also included is a self assessment exercise to help you assess how “resilience-enabled” you and/or your organization may be and to provide a benchmark for development.
For purposes of discussion, the term resilience-enabled leader may refer to an individual at any level in an organization including a person at a senior level who would be expected to demonstrate “leadership” or also any individual taking the role of leadership. The term “Resilience-Enabled Leadership” may apply to an individual or group in an organization demonstrating leadership characterized by the resilience-enabled behaviours described below.
Consider the following questions:
· Does your leadership demonstrate that you meet and overcome the challenge of today’s changing financial and political environment?
· Does your leadership have effectively measurable ways to adjust more easily to the changing environment?
· Is your leadership consistently more agile catching up with or being ahead of the competition?
· Is your leadership demonstrating the ability to enhance capacity for learning and adaptation to what seems to be a shrinking or more discerning customer base?
· Does your leadership demonstrate the confidence to know you will handle what the future may bring?
· And, does your leadership demonstrate that you have the integrated power to persist when things don’t work out as was planned?
Can you answer a resounding “Yes!” to each of the above questions?
If the answer to each and every one of these questions is yes, then you have a resilience–enabled state of mind. Also, your company may have a culture that encourages continuing development allowing its employees to thrive in today’s turbulent environment. In other words, you and your company may have an attitude of resilience-enabled leadership.
If you are not fully confident that you have a resilient organization, and you would like to experience the benefits of capitalizing on the changing business environment, or you would like to further develop your resilience, then read on to establish what you, your organization and your company can do. Here you will learn an approach on how to address today’s challenges and benefit from building resilience-enabled people, processes, principles, standards, technology and leadership.
As such, the purpose of this document is to stimulate your thinking and encourage you to transform into action a resilience-enabled motivation within your leadership structure. As the diagram in Fig #1 at the end of this paper suggests, by invoking a resilience-enabled leadership infrastructure, quality of life for you, your staff and your company can be improved.
We believe that a person and or a company with resilience-enabled leadership will embody and fully embrace the following definition of resilience:
· “An ability to adjust more easily to a changing environment”;
· “An ability to enhance capacity for learning and adaptation”;
· “The confidence to know we can handle whatever may come our way”;
· “The integrated power to persist when things don’t work out as planned”;
· “A state of mind that encourages continuing our personal and organizational development and allows ourselves to thrive in this changing environment”.
Additionally, however, does a particular person in a leadership role have the skills, abilities, attitudes and knowledge to be a Resilience-Enabled Leader and to more effectively contribute to corporate success?
If so, what are these qualities and how would an interested observer recognize them? To answer this question, we need to explore each of the domains where Resilience-Enabled Leadership may be demonstrated. Observing leaders in action within each of the domains will determine if the thought processes are in place to support an environment of resilience-enabled leadership.
The following is an exploration of some of the defined domains within the corporate world where resilience-enabled leadership may be demonstrated:
1. Image/Profile:
1a. This defines your domain of business presence. In other words, as a company, who are you? In terms of each of the resilience definition components above, a variety of questions should be identified, addressed and communicated such as:
· What does our organization stand for?
· What are the values of our organization?
· What principles guide our employees' actions in the form of standards?
· How do others see us?
· How do we want others to see us?
1b. In this domain, a resilience-enabled leader regularly tests using awareness questions such as:
· How in control am I (are we) of the image or profile?
· Do I (we) need to be in better control of how our image or profile is perceived?
· How likely is it that the image or profile could be tarnished or viewed as false?
· Do our people have the ability to enhance our capacity for learning and adaptation to support the image/profile and adjust to a changing environment?
· What other questions would you ask within your environment?
And then, for each of these questions, as appropriate, resilience-enabled leaders put in place quality metrics and customer focused feedback to ensure the right questions are getting the right answers. What are some of yours? As you perhaps can anticipate, the subject is not as simple as putting in place some basic metrics. The principles you define to operate by and the standards you put in place to support those principles are a cornerstone of how your customers will “see you”. The processes and technology, to keep your good intensions on track will give you the data necessary to adjust your approach as appropriate towards what you define as success.
1c. On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is poor and 10 is the best you can be – where is your organization? Why? What can you do to improve your score? When do you need to start? Who can help? How well is your stage set for success?
2. Operations & Business Processes:
2a. This domain represents your effectiveness and efficiencies of getting the right things done correctly. In this domain you define the way in which what work gets done in what manner to deliver your products and services. In terms of each of the resilience definition components above, a variety of questions could be addressed such as:
· Do our people have that innate ability to enhance capacity for learning and adaptation to the changing environment?
· Are our processes documented, updated, measured and thereby providing consistent quality output?
· Are there up to date process maps used in planning future organization changes to better handle new or changing products and their delivery mechanisms?
· Are our detailed procedures understood and followed by the staff responsible to carry out their intended actions in line with the quality specified?
2b. In this domain, a resilience-enabled leader would also use awareness enhancing questions such as:
· How can the operational processes go wrong or off track?
· Do we educate our staff in operation of these processes and, if so, do they understand how to operate them effectively and efficiently?
· How effectively do these operational processes support our vision and goals?
· How important are these processes to me and to the successful delivery of a product of the quality required?
· How well integrated are the processes across business organizations?
· What other questions would you ask within your environment?
With the analysis in place, the processes and technology to keep your good intensions on track will give you the data necessary to adjust your approach as appropriate towards what you define as success.
2c. On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is poor and 10 is the best you can be – where is your organization? Why? What can you do to improve your score? When do you need to start? Who can help? How well is your stage set for success?
3. Corporate Culture:
3a. This domain is observed in the attitudes and behaviours of the employees and their customer interactions. In terms of each of the resilience definition components above, a variety of questions could be addressed such as:
· Do our people have the confidence to know we will handle what may come our way?
· What is the way in which the people in the organization behave towards each other?
· How should the authority figures, the suppliers, and the clients behave in a variety of situations? Do they?
3b. In the domain of corporate culture, a resilience-enabled leader uses awareness heightening questions such as:
· Is the environment a source of stress for me, the people around me and/or for our customers?
· Does the environment defining the culture support my personal vision and goals?
· Are we demonstrating the ability to adjust more easily to the changing environment?
· Are we demonstrating the ability to enhance our capacity for learning and adaptation to the changes around us?
· Are we able to say we have the confidence to know we can handle whatever may come our way?
· Do we have the integrated power to persist when things don’t work out as planned?
· Do we have a state of mind that encourages us to continue our personal and organizational development and allows ourselves to thrive in this changing environment?
· What other questions would you ask within your environment?
There is no quick answer to put in place metrics and needed adjustments to the culture. A start to this, however, is to have or strive for answers to the question “What culture themes should be demonstrated in the behaviours?” And then put in place management and leadership initiatives to encourage and seek out the preferred behaviours. We believe that in today’s hard times, customers are open to some “soft” and empathetic yet pragmatic ways of dealing with the tough issues. Following that line of reason, the processes and technology, to keep your good intensions on track will give you the data necessary to adjust your approach as appropriate towards what you define as success.
3c. On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is poor and 10 is the best you can be – where is your organization? Why? What can you do to improve your score? When do you need to start? Who can help? How well is your stage set for success?
4. Performance/Value/Viability:
4a. This domain represents the output dollar efficiency of your operation. This valuation embodies the measurement of the actual against the desired outcomes of the business products & services. Metrics in terms of cost, quality & timeliness in the eyes of the clients inside the organization and by your paying customers is a key ingredient. In terms of each of the resilience definition components above, a resilience-enabled leader consistently uses a variety of awareness generating questions such as:
· Does the balance of dollar output to value for the customer support our corporate and my personal vision and goals?
· Can the balance go wrong or off track given the current processes and procedures and enabling technology?
· Do we have the ability to adjust more easily to the changing environment?
· Am I in control of the value mechanisms and/or what do I need to do to be in better control of them?
4b. In this domain, a resilience-enabled leader regularly tests awareness using questions such as:
· Are we measuring the “right” things??
· Does the environment defining the values support my personal vision and goals?
· Do I understand the need to be in better control of our viability?
· Do our people have the ability to adjust more easily to the changing environment?
· Do we have the integrated power to persist delivering value to our customers?
· Are we learning from our losses as well as from our wins?
· What other questions would you ask within your environment?
Keeping production performance aligned with value, the processes and technology to keep your good intensions on track will give you the data necessary to adjust your approach as appropriate towards what you define as success.
4c. On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is poor and 10 is the best you can be – where is your organization? Why? What can you do to improve your score? When do you need to start? Who can help? How well is your stage set for success?
5. Jobs/Skills/Org Structure:
5a. In this domain we find the representation of the work people undertake within theirorganization. In terms of each of the resilience definition components above, a resilience-enabled leader consistently raises a variety of awareness heightening questions such as:
· Have we defined in our job structure the flexibility to recognize and reward the ability to adjust what we do to more easily adapt to a changing environment?
· Do we reward this?
· Have we the right skills in place and/or are we constantly redefining what skills are necessary to meet today’s challenges not yesterdays challenges?
· Do the people systems effectively match up the skills of the workforce with the tasks necessary to efficiently deliver the products and services in our portfolio?
5b. In this domain, a resilience-enabled leader regularly tests awareness using questions such as:
· Do our people have the integrated power, the “let’s get it done” teamwork attitude to persist when things don’t work out as planned? Remember the stories of the resilience of the Knights Templar who, after each failure and catastrophe of the Crusades for 200 years from 1129, dusted themselves off and returned to the fray. Not that it should take that long, but you, hopefully, get the point. Resilience and resilient–enabled leaders press on in the face of challenges and are given the management support and the opportunity to fail, learn from that failure and move forward until they succeed.
· Have we an innate ability to enhance our capacity for learning and adaptation in the face of change?
· Are we learning from our failures as well as our successes and rewarding that awareness publicly as an example of the behaviours being encouraged?
· What other questions would you ask within your environment?
Given the processes and technology are in place to keep your good intensions on track, you should have the data necessary to adjust your approach as appropriate towards what you define as success.
5c. On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is poor and 10 is the best you can be – where is your organization? Why? What can you do to improve your score? When do you need to start? Who can help? How well is your stage set for success?
6. Management Systems:
6a. This domain includes the characteristics and qualities of both Leadership and Management. In terms of each of the resilience definition components above, a resilience-enabled leader consistently raises a variety of awareness heightening questions such as:
· What are the accountability vehicles for the leadership and/or the management to use?
· Are our management and our leadership ensuring all the wheels are going around at the right pace allowing them to meet defined expectations?
· Is there a viable succession plan in place IE: the baby boom impact is already underway?
· Are the definitions of resilience being aligned with performance targets?
· Is there consistent communication around the requirements for resilience?
· Are we learning from our failures as well as our successes and rewarding that awareness publicly as an example of the behaviours being encouraged?
· Are the appropriate quality metrics in place to evaluate the challenge of the changing economic climate?
· Are the products and services offered in alignment with the challenge of the changing economic climate?
6b.In this domain, a resilience-enabled leader regularly tests awareness by asking questions such as:
· Are our leaders demonstrating the ability to adjust more easily to a changing environment?
· Are our leaders demonstrating an ability to enhance our capacity for learning and adaptation?
· How are we demonstrating that we have the confidence to know we can handle whatever may come our way?
· How are we demonstrating integrated power to persist when things don’t work out as planned?
· What are we doing to better learn how to thrive in this changing environment?
· What other questions would you ask within your environment?
Given the processes and technology are in place to keep your good intensions on track, you should have the data necessary to adjust your approach as appropriate towards what you define as success.
6c. On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is poor and 10 is the best you can be – where is your organization? Why? What can you do to improve your score? When do you need to start? Who can help? How well is your stage set for success?
7. Enabling Technology:
7a. This domain represents the use of existing technology or development of new technology to supplement, support and enable all of the above. These technologies could be the use of the telephone, cell-phone, fax, e-mail, work queues, automated process functionality, data bases, computer applications, and any of a myriad of personal productivity and/or communications devices, etc. In terms of each of the resilience definition components above, a variety of questions should be addressed to ensure that the supporting technology is truely supporting what is important.
In other words, while being aware of what is important, a resilience-enabled leader uses a variety of awareness generating questions in each and every of the above mentioned domains to support the definition of resilience tabled above. In a resilience-enabled leadership environment, for each domain and definition of resilience, questions such as the following are consistently tabled and addressed:
· How can this go wrong or off track?
· Is this a source of stress for me or others?
· Does this support my personal and/or the corporate vision and goals?
· How important is this to me and to the success of the company?
· How would this affect me if this were lost or broken?
· Am I in control of this?
· How likely is it that this could be lost or broken?
· Do I need to be in better control of this?
7b.In this domain, a resilience-enabled leader regularly tests awareness by asking questions such as:
· How well does our enabling technology have the ability to adjust to a changing environment?
· Are our support systems allowing us to enhance our capacity for learning and adaptation?
· Does our enabling technology give us the confidence to know we can handle whatever may come our way?
· Are we learning from our mistakes?
· What other questions would you ask within your environment?
Given the processes and technology are in place to keep your good intensions on track, you should have the data necessary to adjust your approach as appropriate towards what you define as success.
7c. On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is poor and 10 is the best you can be – where is your organization? Why? What can you do to improve your score? When do you need to start? Who can help? How well is your stage set for success?
Conclusion:
A company or an individual demonstrating resilience-enabled leadership, therefore, regularly tests the state of thinking and resultant behaviours demonstrated in the various domains. This may be observed collectively for the people in leadership roles in a company within each of the domainsin concert with the following resilience definition components:
· “An ability to adjust more easily to a changing environment”;
· “An ability to enhance our capacity for learning and adaptation”;
· “The confidence to know we can handle whatever may come our way”;
· “The integrated power to persist when things don’t work out as planned”;
· “A state of mind that encourages us to continue our personal and organizational development and allow ourselves to thrive in this changing environment”.
A study is currently underway to evaluate a select group of companies to determine their level of Resilience-Enabled Leadership. In terms of the resilience definition and the concept of a resilience-enabled leader, selected leaders are being encouraged to identify what their resilience-enabled leadership are doing to make a difference. Results will be shared as they become available and sharable. In the meantime, a question for the reader - how well do you and your company measure up to resilience-enabled leadership?
How well is your stage set for success? On the scales of 1 to 10 where 1 is poor and 10 is the best you can be – collectively where did your organization score? Why? What can you do to improve your score? When do you need to start? Who can help? What are you waiting for?
Comments, questions, queries and constructive feedback is welcome via E-Mail to Michael.Groves31@gmail.com
Sincerely, Michael Groves
Providing personal and multi-levels of corporate leadership Transition Resilience workshops and programs such as:
· Resilience-Enabled Leadership
· Strategy Focused Goal Alignment
· Resilient Retirement
· One-on-one or group/team developmental coaching
· Coaching Skills for Managers course including practical application practice coaching labs.
FIG #1: