New Ways Of Working: Are you Go. Go. Go? Or No. No. No!

We’ve been talking about the ‘new normal’ and ‘New Ways of Working’ for some time now. For those of us who are Consultants we have been busily supporting clients to develop new strategies, new approaches and new processes to both manage and navigate through this period of uncertainty as they work towards their future envisioned state. No one can be completely sure of the full needs and unforeseen complexities – it’s best fit just right now with room to flex and manoeuvre, no doubt based on some carefully considered iterative, agile plan.

But when will it no longer be classed as ‘new’? When will we all be comfortably through this current turbulence, this period of change, out the other side, enjoying the benefits and wondering why on earth these practices weren’t adopted sooner?!

Well, it will depend on who you ask. For some of us, we are already through the Kubler-Ross defined shock, denial and anger and sailing happily towards acceptance and integration along with a sense of the ‘new’ maybe actually being better than the old! Happy days!

For some others of us however, we are mired with uncertainty, unable to relax into the ‘new’ because well, it’s new! We are yet to fully understand what it means for us and that is often in part because, just now, no one fully knows. Not even the people ‘in the know’. We are in a transitional rather than transformational period. Transformation is the end. Transition is the journey. And for some of us, just right now, it’s a bumpy ride!

So why do some of us struggle to ‘get with the programme’ whilst others seem to embrace the lack of certainty and even enjoy ‘the ride’?

Fundamentally it’s down to our natural personality styles or preferences – a combination of our life experiences and of course our inherited traits. If we look for example at DISC (Dr William Marston), it attempts to help categorise these personality ‘styles’ (using Jungian theory to do so) by assessing across two main areas:

1) the level to which an individual has an extrovert or introvert tendency, and 2) the level to which an individual has a feeling or thinking preference.

This then results in the four domains of red (Dominance), yellow (Influence), green (Steadiness) and blue (Compliance).

Whether we have completed a formal assessment or not, it probably wouldn’t be any surprise to learn that the ‘take control and get it done’ dominant Reds or the fun-loving, ‘live in the moment’ influential yellows are more likely to embrace and even enjoy the excitement of the unknown, whilst the cautious, ‘hang on a minute, let’s just check everything out’ Blues and the people-pleasing ‘I like what I know and I know what I like’ greens may be feeling anxious or uneasy living in the blurred and uncertain boundaries of the current status quo. And we all know what that leads to…. cliques, dissent, resistance, frustration and then later …. disengagement, low morale, sickness, absence, attrition.

So, what can we do to help support those of us more blue, green or maybe somewhere in between?

Firstly, we need to understand the root cause of this unease. And typically, this can be boiled down to one main thing – fear of the unknown!

Digging even deeper into it, there are two main components fuelling this fear:

1) A lack of control and 2) A lack of predictability.

?So, what’s the remedy? How can control be re-gained and predictability restored at a time of change, flux and unknowns?

?Here we can learn a thing or two from the US military who, as we were emerging from the cold war, coined a term known as VUCA to describe situations which were deemed to be Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. Whilst this categorisation was useful, it was Bob Johansen’s application of VUCA within organisational contexts in his 2009 book, Leaders Make the Future, which has real relevance here and, in particular, his development of VUCA Prime the antidote to restore control and predictability which neatly ascribes 4 key actions:

?1.????Meet Volatility with Vision

Whilst the current status quo might be a little foggy, the development of a clear vision, an end goal aligned with core values and cultural objectives can bring a sense of focus, purpose and direction. The shared future vision enables the unknown to become known, and whilst the current stage of the journey might still be challenging, confident, supportive leadership can help to reduce individual and team anxieties.

2.????Meet Uncertainty with Understanding

Having a vision is one thing, communicating it is another. And communicating it effectively requires us to really understand what effective communication means. Put simply, information communicated is only of value if it is actually understood! And often to be understood, as Stephen Covey said in his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989) -we first need to understand. We often hear frustrated leaders and managers saying – “but I’ve told them and I’ve told them, why don’t they get it?’…. Well, quite! They may have been told, but they didn’t understand or they didn’t agree and therefore didn’t take action! So true understanding comes through listening first and telling later using enquiry, questioning, observing (as opposed to judging), reflecting and reviewing, testing and trying. However, alongside this is needed the structure, the forums, the outlets, and the governance to support it…

3.????Meet Complexity with Clarity

Clarity can also be defined as coherence, simplicity and transparency. In VUCA situations this should relate not only to the communication but also to the processes supporting the communication. In times of unpredictability and unknowns, routines and rhythms are critical to provide something that IS known, that IS predictable – a safe harbour from the storm as it were. These forums can also help to promote another important element of clarity – clearly defined roles and responsibilities, jointly collaborating using their individual strengths to simplify the complex themes and challenges typically present in disordered VUCA contexts.

4.????Meet Ambiguity with Agility

On first appearances agility would seem the last thing needed if we are trying to create stability? Agility suggests a constant willingness to change position which surely would be unhelpful to those of us seeking some sense of control and predictability? Provided the V,U and C of VUCA are in place, agility is actually the critical final piece in the puzzle. It is perhaps best re-framed in this context as proactive responsiveness or applying Short Interval Control (SIC), a LEAN strategy. Essentially, somewhat like a SATNAV, it is all about responding to the conditions and making minor adjustments to stay on track in achieving the ‘Vision’. ?Provided there is Clarity through the rhythms and routines, and empathy through Understanding, somewhat ironically, the ‘predictability’ of these necessary adjustments can actually become part of what makes the environment feel more stable.

Let’s be honest, there’s nothing new here is there!

1. Establish where you are headed
2. Get everyone on board
3. Set out a clear path and keep everyone updated
4. Navigate your way through, adjusting as you go to reach your end destination

But if it were that simple then the problems identified earlier of disengagement, absence and attrition would be a thing of the past. Sometimes in setting out a path we can forget that everyone will respond to the journey differently and some of us, perhaps in the blue and green camp, may need a little bit more of the ‘U’ and the ‘C’ to feel that we are safely strapped in for the ride.

It’s called VUCA Prime for a reason, because if we are not headed for a ‘prime’ outcome then the best we can hope for is secondary.

Perhaps like the military we all need to stop and really look at every aspect of our current VUCA environment - whether at a team or organisational level, and really assess those adjustments we need to make to ensure everybody is not only on board, but enjoying the ride!