The BREXIT Anomaly

"It is in essence the true test of leadership"

Leadership is aware of BREXIT, not fearful of it
Leadership is only really tested in times of uncertainty, in times of confusion and when the clarity that comes with management is not directly available. The truth of the matter is that BREXIT is irrelevant to leadership because leadership continues unaffected. BREXIT is at its core, an aberration to the norm, an anomaly, it isn’t right or wrong, BREXIT does not have sentience or emotion, it just is. The outcome was the reality we have today, and this may or not be the one we have tomorrow. 

BREXIT isn’t right or wrong
BREXIT is a moment in time to which we are reacting to. Some people got the outcome they wanted, some did not and some just don’t care. We all have our realities, hopes and fears, as well as, our intellectual positions and perspectives, some fluid and some fixed in stone.

This then is the abode of the leader
Where leaders learn if they are up to the job or whether they have been getting by on niche knowledge, time served and position. The true leader looks at something like this and sees it in the context of a timeline, recognizing their career is a journey with many twists and turns. Leaders who are conscious to the moment recognize that this is where they earn their keep, their attitude to the complex issue is:

Leadership is made up of many component parts, primarily in times of uncertainty or wicked times if you will. The leader’s role becomes about defining:

PURPOSE that helps people engage and commit to the..

why we exist

IDENTITY that spells out the way this business frames the world, defining..

who we are

JUDGEMENT in the mechanics of decision making competence showing..

how decisions are made

BEHAVIOUR that is role modeled and everyone is held to, demonstrating..

how we do what we do

The leaders that will resonate and stand out are the ones that will have a strong skill set and motivation, to not only get actions done, but to do so in a manner that sets the tone for what happens post disruption.

What is the story that will be written, as this timeline moves on?
Will it be one of hardship, back breaking timelines and emotional overload? Will it be one of fear, gossip, lack of clarity, saving own skins and a sense of fighting for survival? Will it be one with leaders focusing on the micro disregarding of human emotions racing through the environment and validating themselves through promising the impossible by making everyone else deliver to that?

There is another perspective............

It’s the one that understands the nature of the moment, taking a “moment to breathe” whilst making the conscious decision to move at pace.

This is about getting a march on the confused and the panicking reactionary competitors, yet at the same time, writing a story that defines the purpose of the business, defining its identity confirming 'how we think and what good looks like'.

"Doing things right is not an issue of context, it does not have an opt in or out clause, it is written into the behavioral DNA of the business"
- Guy Bloom

Doing things right is not an issue of context, it does not have an opt in or out clause, it is written into the behavioral DNA of the business, and is seen as a commercial imperative to ensure that:

1. Talent engages and is attracted
2. Clients experience leadership and believe in the strategy
3. Teams carry the story of the hard things being done the right way

This is about holding the line and staying on message
Trust is what all this boils down to and we aren’t arguing that point, trust me on that. If the message in the good times is different to the message in the more complex times, then you are not to be trusted.

Yes, you can up the wattage and change the emphasis, however what you can’t do is alter the tone. You cannot shift the messages on accountability, integrity, relationship, meaning and purpose.

People have long memories and the story of the way things are around here is being written right now.

• Emotional responses
• Choice of vocabulary
• Purpose of Task
• Levels of communication

All are factoring into the conversation that is happening right now, which becomes the story, and after time, the myth that will either enable or sabotage your business.

The question then is: How to focus on the right things?
Busy? That’s rhetorical.
Confident of the future? That’s rhetorical as well.

These questions are red herrings as they are both a relative constant. The thing that makes it more or less palatable is the sense of urgency and proximity of impact on oneself and those around us. This is now where we see individuals, teams and businesses rise and flourish or not….

So to succeed:

1. Have an absolute focus on the purpose of the business. Not the actions of the moment. 
   Do not allow the moment to distort this focus, the repercussions are long lasting, as trying to reconnect to a moral and human focus retrospectively is nigh on impossible
   
   
2. Be unrelenting in the development and nurturing of leadership.
   This is the time to examine talent, to coach, mentor and develop, not in a linear manner that only answers the needs of now, but in an adaptive learning perspective that develops:
   
   
   1. Curiosity
   2. Innovation
   3. Challenge
   4. Accountability
      
      
3. Tell a compelling story
   Now more than ever people need to aim for something that is bigger, bolder and more exciting than the thing they are dealing with, give them that, that is your responsibility!
4. Use the power of the “10th Man”.
   In a film called World War Z, there is a scene explaining how the Israeli government had a “10th Man” principle. This meant, whenever nine people looked at the same information, they came to the same conclusion. It was the “10th Man’s” duty to disagree and actively look for evidence to the contrary
   
   This story was actually born from the experience of the Yom Kippur War (1973),which took Israeli military intelligence by surprise. Institutions were put in place to reduce the chances of group thinking and to stop over dominant commanders preventing diverse opinions from reaching decision makers or being initiated at all. One of these units were often referred to as the “Devil's Advocate Office”
   
   The businesses that navigate to the future will make a space for the curious and elegantly disruptive use of the 10th man, within their business
   
   

I am a bad ass unicorn
Q: What does all this mean?
A: The future does not belong to the fearful. It belongs to the brave.

• “When this is all done, what do we want the story of it to be?”
• What am I made of?

It means the capacity to hold two truths. The truth of getting the job in hand done and the truth of doing it the right way.

It also means that we have to look very hard at ourselves in the mirror and ask:

The answer to that might well sit in a quote from Goethe:

"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element.  It is my personal approach that creates the climate.  It is my daily mood that makes the weather. 

I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous.  I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration; I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. 

In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person humanized or de-humanized. 

If we treat people as they are, we make them worse.  If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming"

I hope this post has helped in your thinking and the story you want to write for not only yourself but for those that you have a duty to.

As always you write your own story, the things that occur around you are just that, you will wake up tomorrow, the sun will still come out and at some point, the what you are dealing with now becomes a memory that you talk about at dinner.

It has always been like this and it always will, the only constant here is the decision you make as to your own actions.

Be well.

_______________________________

Guy Bloom is a Leadership Futurist with a commitment to bring the future of leadership into the present day and help businesses create a sustainable, legacy driven, commercially savvy environment.