What is driving leadership and management

Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher said, “Change is the only constant in life.” 500 BC.

When we look at the evolution of human beings, our bodies and brains have undergone accelerated evolution, in particular in the last 40,000 years. But our physical evolution is still lagging in our ability to cope with the changes in the environments we live in, particularly living in large, complex modern societies. Most of us experience daily discord as a result.

Little wonder that many of us experience situational stress that triggers reactions that are not best suited to the modern world. Change is accelerating at a remarkable rate, for those of us involved in leadership and management using and developing coping strategies that help us and those we lead and support is key to our own and others’ abilities to survive, rise and thrive.

One strategy is to take time to stop, step back and look at the bigger picture, to make sense of the bewildering amount of information and change we encounter. To look for patterns that highlight what is driving us now and what is likely to next. And importantly to think about how best to respond to these drivers

There are a variety of frameworks for conducting such research and reflection. The one I have found most useful for organisational context is PRESTCOME (Political, Regulatory, Economic, Social, Technological, Competitive, Organisational, Market, Environmental). Whichever framework best fits your context, considering the major drivers and most appropriate responses, on a regular basis is something we recommend.

The process of conducting environmental scans of the nature outlined above often liberates the creative juices of those involved and those who are shown the findings. Such analyses often give rise to

• Insights that can lead to profound sustainable value creation.

• Intelligence to assist in setting appropriate ambition levels and goals.

• The basis for strategies to fulfil the protentional and goals of the organisation.

• Practical, strategic and tactical insight to shape and influence implementation.

In practice we use the tool internally and often externally when we engage with an organisation or group. It’s remarkable the positive effect this can have. In our experience this often has a calming impact on people by establishing, a common context and, paradoxically, has a galvanising effect that stimulates action to seize the opportunities presented.

Now whether the most important drivers in your context are the environmental crisis, mass economic impoverishment or the effect of artificial intelligence right now, remember to consider often what are the big shifts that are happening and are likely to happen next, that are worthy of attention. Some tips for when you do, from those who have made plenty of mistakes when doing so:

1. Do this with others, ‘better together’ is never truer than when doing work of this nature.

2. Take time to walk through nature when reflecting on what are the most significant drivers and most appropriate responses.

3. Research with rigour, and don’t deceive yourselves to thinking whatever discoveries you come up with will not change, they will. After all change is the only constant!