Leading in uncertainty - what happens now?
There’s a lot of uncertainty that comes with working in tech. Most of the time, you’re building the playbook as you’re building the business. Going from a new idea, then moving from innovation to a viable business model isn’t easy.
Today, we’re seeing uncertainty not only in tech but in our daily lives with the changes brought on by COVID. When we think about leadership in uncertainty, the need to adapt stands out. Leaders don’t react, they respond - with a considered choice. 2020 has reinforced that anything can happen, and when it does, leaders have to do what’s best, even if it means letting their plans go.
To be real: things are not going back to normal. This strange year is testing leaders the world over. It’s time to think about what’s next for leadership and how we’ll come out on the other side of the uncertainty.
The future of leadership
During lockdown, hopefully, you were lucky enough that your biggest distraction was work, burying yourself in it, holding on to what you can, and getting too familiar with Zoom calls. That’s what a lot of us did - to avoid being alone with our thoughts in a truthfully scary moment for the world right now.
The problem is that staying busy is the easy way out. Self-reflection might be uncomfortable, but this is the space of leadership where impactful change happens. It helps you develop the self-awareness of when to take control or when to let go - that’s the Leadership Pendulum.
When we talk about the leadership pendulum, it’s not “Monday I’m going to take control, Tuesday I’m going to let go…” It’s about making tiny shifts in your leadership approach that add up over time. By developing self-awareness, you’ll be able to notice when you’re reacting instead of responding - Leading through uncertainty.
Taking the first steps
The most important initial step is committing to a time each week for self-reflection. Block it in your calendar and treat it like a hard meeting. Try not to let yourself walk all over the time you book for it. Just because it’s only you doesn’t mean it’s not essential. Show up for yourself as you show up for others. It’s extremely valuable time to check in with yourself.
In your self-reflection, think about what’s happened during lockdown and the insights you can capture from it before it’s too late. What parts didn’t work for you? What changes do you want to see? Do you have the energy to drive them? Think ahead, but don’t leave lockdown in the past. There’s a lot to learn from it once you dive in, and it can have a huge impact on how you lead going forward.
Moving forward, focus your energy on progress over process. Highlight wins both big and small - but don’t let the small wins go unnoticed. Celebrate them as you would any win. When we embark on big change projects, it’s the small wins that give us the energy to keep going.
You’ve got this.
If you’re interested in developing your leadership style in these uncertain times, you might be interested in talking to us about some of our remote offerings.
At OverTime Leader we provide executive leadership and management advisory for technology-enabled businesses and teams. If you are looking to spark a people-powered change in your business our team has a toolbox full of ways to help you get started.
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