Crazy Times Call for Sane Leaders!

Flexing your style to meet the “VUCA” challenges

Volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity. Sound familiar? The pandemic has thrown us into a VUCA world and as a result, I have two questions for you: 1) Has your leadership style shifted to meet the needs of this new environment, and 2) How do you know if you are being effective?

Successful leaders understand the need to flex their natural style to effectively work with each of their team members. During these times, calling on your coaching skills is most important:

1.     Self-Coaching. How do you want to show up every day? Stay grounded in your values and priorities. Be willing to acknowledge when you are having a “down day”.

2.     Listening. Increase your active listening skills. When working with remote teams, ask for videos to be on so you can “see” how your people are doing, not just hear.

3.     Compassion. Work on showing empathy and practice expressing understanding. Be as flexible as possible with work loads and deadlines, knowing that many people continue to struggle with the stressors of working from home.

4.     Decision Making. Finally, hone your decision-making skills. These times often call for rapid change and pivoting. Gather data, consider others’ input and opinions, decide, evaluate and learn.

Brief, customized 360 surveys are the best way to answer questions #2 above; “How do you know you are being effective?”  Since we don’t expect our VUCA environment to change any time soon, gathering feedback from your team members can provide you with valuable information on how you might shift during these times in order to meet your objectives, support your people and continue to be successful!

For a fully customizable and affordable 360 assessment, contact Diane at diane@trivantagedevelopment.com.