Continuing on the journey to get VUCA Ready, in Bobbie LaPorte’s October 1 “Calling the Game” video she talks about “Contagion.” But don’t worry; it’s actually a GOOD thing! Watch now to learn how you can make your own confidence contagious—and
Contagion: The second element of VUCA Ready leadership
Hi, this is Bobbie LaPorte, back with another week of “Calling the Game,” where I share my own experience and insights while giving you valuable tools you can use to call your own game…and plan the best moves for you and your team.
This week, we continue our VUCA Ready® Series with the second element of building the leadership ability to normalize the unexpected and tackle whatever curveballs are thrown at you.
First, let me acknowledge that behavior change, particularly the kind of shifts we are discussing in this VUCA Ready series, is hard. It takes time to change your normal default reactions to more reasonable, positive practices. The key to success is being intentional about training yourself to respond rather than react and to role-model this behavior for your team.
So, back to our second element in becoming VUCA Ready®, and that is “Contagion” (don’t worry, it’s a good thing). It’s about the systems you have in place to make your new confidence contagious so your team can operate independently when needed to find their best next move.
Why is contagious confidence important for leaders?
You must build capacity in your team to respond confidently to curveballs, see what is possible, develop their own VUCA Readiness, and multiply for you.
This becomes more important in times of continuing change when leaders default to “taking charge”—and not necessarily in a positive, capacity-building way. They feel that their team expects them to have the answer and confidently show them the way. This can be very seductive for leaders because it makes them feel validated, wanted, and secure in their position.
How do you make your confidence contagious?
Let me share an example from one of my clients.
His company acquired a smaller competitor with a function similar to the one he was leading. His challenge was to determine which team should stay as part of the new organization and which should be dissolved. Now, that’s a major curveball. The professional future of everyone on both teams was at stake. That’s a heavy position for any leader to be in and certainly something he had never seen before.
He could have hunkered down and tried to figure this out on his own, but he’d had success involving his team in challenging situations before. He engaged both teams in developing options, a difficult and sometimes emotional process, to be sure.
They made recommendations based on what they knew would be best for the business, knowing they were going down a path they had never seen before. They knew it was better to act and change course, if necessary, than sit and wait for someone else to determine their future.
In this process, he demonstrated that it’s okay to ask for help, rely on each other, and develop an approach together. In this way, he was helping them build the confidence to act—not to wait and rely on him—to make his confidence contagious in his team.
Your team needs to develop the same discipline to get off autopilot that you will have achieved, to develop the confidence to operate independently and find their own best next move. That’s how you create VUCA Readiness in your team.
As part of this VUCA Ready series, I am offering my quick 30-minute online Introduction to Navigating Uncertainty course free to viewers for a limited time. Click on the link at the bottom of this post to sign up now!
OK, that’s it for this week’s “Calling the Game.” Hope this helps you gear up for a great week and navigate any curveballs that may come your way!
[ICYMI] See the previous posts in this VUCA Ready Series:
- Leadership Readiness: 5 Elements of a VUCA Ready Mindset – Master the mindset that turns organizational challenges into opportunities
- Initial Response: The First Element of VUCA Ready Leadership – Mastering your first reaction to getting hit with a curveball
FREE Introduction to Navigating Uncertainty Course →
1. Click the link
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