The Curious Case of Leadership Resilience

We live in an altered world now. Black Swan Events disrupt the essence of how we perceive and act in the world. Political turbulence, Economic uncertainties, Social modifications, Technological disruptions, Environmental sensitivities & Legal changes impact the macro and microenvironments. In addition, the Pandemic has changed the way organizations and markets operate. Stresses in Supply Chains and Value Chains are becoming inevitable and need focus. Thus Leadership behaviors demand validation continually. This Resilience Research does not apply in cases where KPIs on Revenues, Profitability & Cash Flows are being met with no complex stresses in the value chains and supply chains at an organization level. We did not conduct research in these organizations.

The curiosity that drives this Business Resilience Research is identifying the nature of leadership behaviors and their readiness to deal with the Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous World resolutely. Volatility demands agility; Uncertainty demands control on change outcomes, Complexity requires simplification of information, and Ambiguity demands experimentation. This behavioral investigation determines the facets of Leadership and their dynamics in creating an adaptive performance. Again, the emphasis is that the intent was to test the Leadership Resilience and successfully ascertain their readiness to manage these unpredictable times and the black swan events.

The Methodology of the qualitative research comprised three stages.?

Use of valid and reliable Trait Tool (4428 datasets) in the form of Saville Expert Report results as a separate experiment. Use of most acclaimed Personality Typing Tool MBTI Step II to ascertain correlation of findings in the trait tool, if any, as a second different experiment. Data validation to derive specific insights from the Industry-Wide Appreciative Inquiry Focus Group discussions (300 plus Managers) was undertaken to ensure the accuracy of the findings. This Appreciative Inquiry was the third and final independent experiment.

The Assessments have taken two years to complete. To align to the order of research practicality, the sample size for Trait Tool is 41, and for Personality Typing is 74. The Trait Tool comprises Sten Scores which compare the Leadership behavior with the Global Scores of the cohort group. The Personality Test Outcomes do not follow the trend of a continuous variable as in the case of Trait Tool and are treated as discrete variables. Stage One of Psychometric Trait Profiling takes a normed mean score with a standard deviation of 2 with no outliers. It reflects that some leaders manage the volatility effectively. Higher scores reflect approximately 15% sample, and the lowest scores are reflected in the 12% sample. Thus 73% of data is around the central tendency and with 108 facets; thus, there can be no Leader as one with exceptional scores in all aspects.?The Analysis across the Four Dimensions of Problem-Solving, Influencing, Adaptability & Delivery of Results brings out some interesting insights. In Problem-Solving, all facets tend to be on the inferior side of central tendency. The compromises are reflected in the zone of Evaluation of Problems, Investigation of Situations, & Creating Innovation. Innovation lacks exploration of opportunities and the development of strategies. Generation of ideas suitable for complex scenarios is not in order as mostly past experiences individually or collectively get utilized. The overall insight is that complex problem solving is an area of challenge.?

Leaders have done well in Influencing. The only challenge found in situations of stress was rapport and challenging ideas. This may create trust issues during conditions of supply chain stress.?

A grave area of concern is emerging in an adaptive performance. Though leaders are confident in such situations, it was evidenced that conflicts remained unresolved, and loss of composure was experienced in complex problem scenarios. They did embrace change; however, they demonstrated a pessimistic approach and were closed to feedback. In addition, support to teams in the form of coaching was found wanting when it came to solutions.?

Delivery of results in driving success in challenging and not-so-complex scenarios was happening. However, processing details and structuring tasks were not an area of focus. Complex situations showed a tendency for instant gratification and associated actions to accomplish the KPIs.

The conclusion derived and tested during focus group discussions were:

1.???During stress situations in value chains, instant gratification was sought in discounts, schemes, and indiscriminate cost-cutting. This method compromised value in the business and supply chain further.

2.???Influencing can happen at a higher intensity when Leaders are armed with current authentic information to challenge the status quo ideas and create value across the supply chain.?

3.???Leaders must focus on acquiring a scientific approach to deal with ambiguities and be armed with tools to conduct business experiments.

4.???Delivery of results cannot be based on instant gratification. It must ensure sustainable results. Delivery of the results can improve when Leaders focus on Design Skills, Scientific Processes, and relevant details to avoid undesired errors and compromises of compliances. The conscientiousness of approach is essential to the delivery of results.?

The above findings were validated in the MBTI reports. The significant areas of development emerged as acquiring abilities to envision the big picture and understanding models, knowledge & concepts. Empathy as a facet of feeling came up as another area of development. Focus on detailing through data was also emerging as a focus area.?

Suggestions that emerged in the focus group sessions and through our insights with primary and secondary data in the research projects are:

1.???Leaders must realize past carries no relevance in complex situations; they demand unique solutions.

2.???Leaders must keep themselves updated with the latest authentic knowledge & research.

3.???Leaders must drive and control change scientifically.

4.???Leaders must hone the skill of Design to ensure sustainable business success. They must Design Organizations, Teams, and Individuals for success.?

This research was daunting in nature and was inspired to help Organizations create Leaders of the Future. Though the insights seem very critical of leaders, that is not so. Most Leaders did manage the challenges of the past well. It must be appreciated that the VUCA world events, also sometimes termed Black Swan Events, disrupt everything, including acquired Leadership wisdom and experience. Leaders who will continuously question their present capabilities will evolve and succeed in the turbulent times. This research finding accentuates the truth, by saying develop the authentic & ever-evolving futuristic competencies and stay ahead of the world. VUCA is not binary and needs unique approaches for every aspect of Management. It is essential to test where and why agility, change, information, and cause and effect models are creating stress and deploy a scientific critical thinking and design approach to manage them.?

It is thus recommended that organizations evaluate the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental & Legal dimensions and their impact on businesses in extreme situations; it is also imperative to develop the behavioral competencies and knowledge aspects. Partnering with experts in the relevant fields to provide coaching and knowledge must become an essential facet of Learning & Development Strategies at Senior Levels. Only training the mid-level talent will not help. VUCA demands focus at the top. Readiness is an oasis that leaders will have to chase forever; is the conclusion.?

Sharing this research will benefit the fraternity is what the researchers at Atyaasaa believe. So please do not hesitate to spread these insights.

Contact the Author for Building Leaders with Futuristic Competencies, Assessments & Research. Please do visit specialized services at Atyaasaa.

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Copyright: Niket Karajagi.

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