12912021 Leadership ina chaoti worts Linked ff Join now rota by niko macaspacon Unspash Leadership in a chaotic world JoseltoYoey) Malar, PMP Folow The orponee Mean O« Or? @o "Thave a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore" - Dorothy Gale 2020 might not have turned out to be what most of us were hoping for. The world has experienced several devastating events one after the other. Bushfires, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and now a global pandemic never before experienced in our lifetimes - we have very litle knowledge on what is going on, nor do we have the means to assess if our actions will result to what we think it will result to. Ths is what mast business leaders cll the VUCA World, and we have been in this situation for quite some time now though we just did not notice ‘To putit simply, what worked before will nat work now Tied and tested approaches to solving problems and isues may not alvays be as effective as it once was. The game has already changed and tisis the new normal In this regard, I would like to offer certain aspects about leadership that our leaders - whether business people, our government, and more importantly family leaders ~ can take in and try to develop in order to be more effective in leading inthis chaotic world You will not have all the information you need - work with what you have now The standard problem solving approach of collecting information, hypothesizing, experimenting and analyzing the results may work only if you have ample information to work on. Today, we have very lite knowledge about what is going on and whatever litle we know, we are unsure if i's correct. The before named Novel Coronavirus (now COVID-19) i a perfect example of not htpshwinkedin.comipuseleadershio-haatc-word oss oey-mallar-pmp 16srear202 Leadership ina chaotic wos Linked fi Join now (Signin) Complex Probe Sense Respond Emergent Complicat Sense Analyze Respond Good Practi Disorder Chaotic Act Sense Respond Novel Simple Sense Categoriz Respond Best Pract The Cynefin framework is a way of describing how to make decisions (or solve problems) given ‘one's environment. tis a means of "sense-making” or understanding what is going on in order to have a “sense of place”, Clearly we are no in simple environment hence best practices do no work Best Practices are founded on repeatable actions that produce predictable results. We are ina state of chaos and so we need to look for Novel (New) Practices to address this chaos. This cequires that we do the following in order: ACT What litle we know of, we act upon. We know the virus spreads through droplets and has 2 typical incubation period of 14 days. Hence we act upon this by staying at home and reducing ahvysical contact with other people. Ths is why countries the world over are going on lock downs Of several weeks to prevent further spread ‘SENSE - We see what is happening around us given that we've already done somethings the lock down helping flaten the curve? What are the unintended consequences of this lock down? htps:wwikecin.comipulseleadership-chaoti-wort-josalitojoey-mallar-pmp 26singi2024 Linked if Leadership ina chaoti worts impacted our environment has definitely helped us make better decisions. For example, upon lenowing the impact ofthe current lock down period, governments can make an assessment or whether an extension is needed, whether more/less stringent measures are requited, or what policies/procedures need to be put in place to address the situation Command and Control does not work - Be a Servant Leader Centralized Leadership structures ae based on the goals of uniformity, efficiency, and equal These are noble goals and there is nothing inherently wrong with them. However, in a chaotic world, so many different things are happening atthe same time. The experiences of people encountering issues are all unique and diverse, Command and Control Leadership approaches are not advisable primarily because Decisions are made far from the source of the problem - the decision maker has limited visibility and understanding on what is going in-the-trenches (or in our current situation - limited visibility in the hospital, barangay halls, public markets, and neighborhoods). The leader who can best address the situation isthe one who actually sees the situation fist hand Decisions take a long time to be made - the chain-of-command requires information to flow from the source to the decision maker. Tis would have been a best practice ina simple environment. However, withthe rate and speed of changes, once a decision is made, the environment has already changed and the decision i at best nat as effective as it should have been Bottlenecks at the top Ina chaotic world, more decisions need to be made on a daly basis, hence the tendency is for decisions to queue at the single decision maker atthe top. This futher increases the time a decision is made and aggravates the situation, Its also unhealthy forthe decision maker to be expected to make all the decisions al the time Instead, a more appropriate response forthe Leader isto take on a Servant Leader approach. This entails empowering everybody to make the appropriate decisions relevant to their environment while the Servant Leader helps and supports the Emergent Leaders (those who are ‘now called to lead) to remove impediments to the Emergent Leaders success. The posture ofthe Servant Leader should change from ‘This is what you do." to ‘What isthe help that you need?’ 8y taking on this more decentralized approach, we enable those who can best address the situation to actually addres the situation, we ensure that a decision is made as fast as possible and we reduce the strain on the decision makers as they have a more limited and manageable area of responsibilty. Personally, | believe thatthe inital call ofthe National Government to delegate the Local Governments to address the COVID-19 situation was the right move t enabled loca governments to act quicker and more appropriately to meet their needs. There were many stories of Emergent Leaders rising to the occasion and coming up with solutions that were innovative and effective Sadly though, it was not properly backed up by support and assistance that was still badly needed by the local government. The unintended consequence of this to the national government (or the Servant Leader) isa feeling of lack of control. Of course this will happen simply because by not supporting, the national government is essentially abdicatng ther leadership responsibility whichis not Servant Leadership Since the national government has no prior experience in this field (remember we are a centralized government and not federal) they defaulted to back to the command and control structure they have been so used to. This i why emergency powers were requested, all COVID-19 tests have to go through the Department of Health, allocation and distribution of supplies have to be centralized, and certain Emergent Leaders are being scrutinized for their actions. For Emergent Leaders, we have to remember the earlier point that we will not have all the information needed. We have to act despite the lack of direction Act. Sense. Respond. You have the right to fail but are obligated to learn htps:wwikecin.comipulseleadership-chaoti-wort-josalitojoey-mallar-pmp a8singi2024 Linked if Leadership ina chaoti worts at worst, inaction. Failure is imminent but failure is not permanent, Leaders need to take advantage of the lessons leamed from each failure and take it as opportunity to develop a better solution. There is no perfect solution, especially in a chaotic world, All we get is a series of gradual improvements. f@ Leader does not gain knowledge from the mistakes of previous solutions, he has failed the people he leads. Ths isthe premise of the saying "Fail fast. Fail Often During the last couple of weeks, the government declared an initial quarantine of Metro Manila, This did not work primarily because people who work in Metro Manila also live in nearby provinces. People needed to travel in and out of Metro Manila and were also required tc distance themselves while on an already congested public transportation system. They learned that logistical constraints would prevent the implementation of a Metro-wide quarantine. Withir just a couple of days after learning this lesson, an enhanced community quarantine was implemented and that did the trick. Of course its not perfect but its more feasible than the previous idea Transparency and Openness creates Trust Leadership isa contract built on trust Leaders are expected to make decisions inthe best interest of the group in exchange for the support and allegiance of the group. The group is expected to support and follow the Leader in exchange forthe Leader making decisions that benefit the group. For this social contract to work, both parties must trust each other. Once this trusts broken, the Leadership structure ofthe organization fails. Trust however, is expensive. It requires both parties to be transparent and open to one another. 8y being transparent, you disclose knowledge and information whether good or bad. Ina chaotic world, knowledge and information is a scarce commodity. Every opportunity to provide suck enhances this social contract as it builds trust. Both parties need to be open to provide anc accept citicisms. No one has a monopoly of solutions to problems. Ina chaotic worl, beinc ‘open to such enables us to adjust and improve. It creates a feedback loop for us to know what we did right - or wrong Ever since the start of this quarantine / lock down, people have been very anxious about the situation and rightfully so. Leaders need to be open and transparent about the situation they are facing. Business Leaders need to inform their employees on what are the current challenges being faced by their organization. Religious Leaders need to reassure their congregation that everything wil be allright. Government, both at the National and Local level, need to inform their constituents what is being done to address the situation. Moms and Dads need to be transparent and open about how this situation wll impact the family \What most leaders fear is the fact that giving out bad news reflects on their leadership capability and loss of control. Tis is far from the truth. In fact, being transparent and open provides the following benefits It shows that the Leader is actually doing something - a slow progress is stl progress. very failure is an opportunity to learn it invites people to share in the problem solving process - while being transparent wil defintely bring-in criticisms on the Leaders performance, it wil also usher in people who might have really good ideas. This speeds up the problem solving process and creates buy-in anc commitment it ears the respect of his subordinates - Leaders are humans too, We all make mistakes anc sometimes do not live up to expectations. Leader who shows humility by being open anc transparent eamns the respect of his subordinates There is absolutely no benefit to not being transparent and open. Tiss true for leading at any situation, but more importantly in a chaotic environment In summary Leadership in a chaotic word requires ust be transparent, open quick inclusive, and adaptive Thisis a stark contrast against tratonal concepts of leadership that mast of our curent leaders htps:wwnirkecin.comipulseleadership-chaotic-wortjosalitojoey-malar-pmp 46srear202 Linked fi] Accessibily Pray Pate, right Ploy Guest Contos Language Published By & ‘Chaos is the new normal, How should leaders lead in these times of volatility, uncertainty, complet, anc ambiguity? leadership Svuca Fagileleadership Joselito Uoey) Malla, PMP The Corporate Mecanie comments & More from Joselito (Joey) Mallari, PMP 18 articles PMs Key wh Leadership ina chaotic wos Sign in to leave your comment How to make Digital Learning work ser Agement cookie aly Brand aio, hitps:wwnirkecin.comipulseleadership-chaoti-wortjoselitojoey-malar-pmp Cratiow) Alesson in re stakeholders March 25,2018 58