Leading through Uncertainty with a Strategy
When I was a kid, I loved bouncing a tennis ball against a wall. I liked the sound it made, and the fact I couldn’t always tell where it was going to bounce back – but I always knew it would. The wall was a constant, and despite my energy levels or whatever else was going on, it was always there tempting me to do better next time.
For me, business and communications strategies are like that wall, they are a constant idea, aspiration and a collegially determined plan that you can keep coming back to, regardless of the situation at hand.
Over the last 18 months, one of the hardest aspects of leading teams, people, projects, campaigns, events, and companies, hasn’t been the challenges themselves (although brutal); the toughest part has been navigating the constant uncertainty, and changing landscape.
Most CEOs and leaders I know are well-rehearsed in dealing with crisis and change; it is part of the job description. However, when the ground you stand on feels like constantly shifting sand hills, whilst you are managing change, exhaustion quickly sets in, focus wanes, emotions flare, mojos go missing and staff can quickly become disengaged. The team may start spinning wheels out of sync, resulting in the business not going anywhere.
One thing that can help bring calm and realign the team is a strategy. Even if you must change it repeatedly, it acts as central reference point for the team and a position to go back to. This allows you to see how close, or far you are from where you thought you’d be (bringing in some perspective) and helps to level out the emotional roller coaster for you and the team.
With a strategic plan you have something to contextualise the changes you are making and something concrete to communicate to your team and stakeholders. Your people can still see their ideas being heard and reflected, and everyone can remain connected to the priorities – moving together to accomplish them.
A revised strategic plan is an effective shorthand way to explain the things that need to change, when they need to evolve, why and how.
And, most importantly, when you are ready to go again, an active strategy enables you to rebound at a much faster rate than you would if you didn’t have one.
If you are a leader, part of your job is to emotionally regulate the team. So, if your perspective is changing with every phone call during the day, having a strategic plan can help you centre your thoughts, focus the team, and put energy into the right activities – and save you valuable head space.
So, whilst it might seem counterintuitive to develop strategic plans right now, I would say now is the best time to put all your thoughts on the table, inspire some new thinking and give yourself the best chance to come out firing after this difficult time.
If you have a plan – refresh it, and if you don’t, now could be the best time to build yourself a reliable wall you can bounce a tennis ball against.
