Don’t Get Stuck Playing Defense Against VUCA
Offense Means Opportunity
We talk about VUCA a lot, with good reason. It stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity, and right now, we are surrounded by intensity across all four. What does that mean for businesses? That depends on the state of readiness of their leaders, and if they are equipped to play offense or stuck playing defense.
When you’re stuck playing defense, you’re letting the circumstances drive your behavior. Your line of sight becomes very short, and you wind up “just getting by” (or worse) when times get tough. Businesses that have a strong offensive game are able to find opportunity in the challenges, better anticipate twists and turns, and keep their attention focused on the bigger, longer-term goals.
How to Know Which Ground Game You’re Playing
If you’re thriving through turbulent times, you must have some offense working somewhere. If you feel like all your energies are spent playing “whack-a-mole” with the issues of the day, chances are you’re stuck on defense. Either way, the secret to a well-rounded game plan is in the capabilities of the organizational leaders.
After years of working with executive teams to balance out great defense with great offense, we’ve identified a starter set of questions to explore to determine if you are playing offense in the interest of your organizational vision.
Questions to Explore
Are your leaders Amplifiers or Blockers?
Are they Agile – can they manage metrics today AND employ innovation to increase capacity AND create a vision to capture opportunities amidst VUCA?
Can they align AND inspire AND unleash disparate teams to collaborate across networks to achieve the purpose of the company?
Are they risk takers AND analyzers of pitfalls AND optimistic about the future?
The Winning Play
Here’s the catch. You can’t settle for answers to just one of these questions. To play successful offense in the game of VUCA, you need to answer, master, and execute against all of them at once. It’s a tall order, but moving your organization and team to playing offense is trainable, actionable, and puts you in a position of strength for growth.
We look forward to elevating your offense. Contact us to get the conversation started.
Mary Beth Molloy
Certified Executive Coach and Business Consultant, she delivers uncanny focus on the intersection of your business vision and goals and the leaders you’ve entrusted to achieve them.
She knows what it takes to accelerate and elevate business results through leadership development and performance. It’s her powerful blend of these experiences together with her practicality, purpose, and positivity that drive our value.
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