IMD-OWP22-PostEvent-Report-V11[8]

First page Previous page 76-77 Next page Last page

→Leadership

ACTION POINTS

Consider how bias and noise – unwanted variables – may be affecting the way decisions are framed. This impacts what is noticed and, importantly, what is overlooked. It is often the overlooked noise that leads to unintended and unwanted consequences. Use smart conversations to optimize the interests of all by empowering people to speak up and challenge assumptions, the status quo, and perceptions of risk. This may involve making some short- term trade-offs in the service of long- term gains. Create a culture that actively seeks to learn frommistakes and challenging situations. It is the ability to learn that enables people and organizations to adapt with agility. Clear, consistent communication that includes all stakeholders, shares the available information, and conveys hope is key for managing volatile and unpredictable events.

2 3 4

SAMEH ABADIR Professor of Leadership and Negotiation

Yet being able to do this and stay calm in the midst of threat requires the willingness to be inclusive to ensure all information is available and considered to make optimal decisions. Leaders who manage this, such as Naohiro Masuda, the superintendent of the Fukushima Daini nuclear plant in Japan, balance calm confidence and a realistic appraisal of the situation to provide a cool analysis of the emerging situation with humility and empathy to offer hope and motivation. When leaders combine the agility, adaptability, and cohesion of a small team with the power and resources of a large organization through what we call “smart conversations”, they can create extraordinary results by building on the wisdom of the crowd.

making. This framing and noise can result in breakdowns in communication, sometimes with tragic consequences and resulting in sub- optimal solutions. Awareness of the subtle, but pervasive, ways that framing, bias, and noise affect decisions is crucial for leaders. This awareness helps them to develop decision and conversational hygiene to reduce unwanted unpredictability in rapidly changing times or during crisis. We know from research on crisis or accidents that it is vital for leaders to engage in collective sensemaking to develop an emerging picture of the unknown that can be tested. This enables the collective to learn from and adapt to the evolving situation.

LEADERSHIPAS SENSEMAKING Nevertheless, the task of leadership is to make sense of rapidly changing events, set a direction amidst uncertainty, and provide a sense of hope and safety to organizations. Certainly, to lead in this volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world requires skills of sensemaking, navigation, communication, and complex stakeholder management. It also requires common sense. However, common sense is often not common practice due to the ways that people frame decisions, and the common biases and “noise” – unpredictable unwanted variability – that affect decision-