In her October 22 “Calling the Game” video, Bobbie LaPorte wraps up her VUCA Ready Series with a look at Agency, the final key to leading through uncertainty. As today’s leaders struggle with complicated challenges like RTO (Return to Office) policies, they need to feel confident using their Agency to make decisions—even when the path may be unclear.
Agency: the fifth element in 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 fifth and final element in building the leadership ability to normalize the unexpected and tackle whatever curveballs are thrown at you.
And that element is “Agency”: do you understand that making mistakes is now part of the process? How confident are you to act without knowing the end results?
This is a tough one for most leaders. With so much change and uncertainty facing us in a VUCA world, we crave certainty. Making a decision and heading down a path we have never been on can be a scary proposition, one that could put your career in jeopardy.
But acknowledging and using your agency is a very important element of leading in a VUCA world.
Let’s look at one contemporary issue that exemplifies the need for Agency
Every major organization I know of is dealing with its RTO (Return to Work) policy, one of the most complex, emotional, and controversial issues for today’s leaders. Even if your organization has defined a policy, it is still an “active” discussion for many leaders around implementation, employee pushback, and exceptions.
This is an issue that is ripe for waiting, ignoring, denial…anything but taking action. No one is certain what the answers should be, what will work, and how they should proceed. And what the professional consequences could be.
One of my clients recently found herself in a decision dilemma surrounding this issue that I believe can be instructive.
She leads a global workplace safety and security organization for a growing technology company. The company was still not clear on laying out a definitive RTO policy; although they had shared some general goals, they were guidelines with a lot of room for interpretation and “exceptions.”
Against this backdrop, she had an opening in her senior leadership team that was crucial to the success of her organization. It was a role she held prior to being promoted to run the entire global operation.
Her task was to hire someone who was highly qualified for this specialized role and a great cultural fit, but importantly, who could work from corporate headquarters and build a team located there. This would send a signal that the company’s RTO guidelines were more than just that – they were serious considerations in hiring for any senior leadership roles.
This presented a dilemma for her since the most qualified candidates were remote from headquarters, which was a top consideration for many people involved in the interview and hiring process.
In the end, she had the confidence to hire a leader who was highly qualified but would be remote. The new leader committed to traveling frequently to the HQ location and would make hiring her team there a priority.
Was it a risky move for my client? Some would say so, particularly given the highly charged feelings around the headquarters hiring directive. But she knew what she needed in a new leader – someone who was very experienced and to whom she could quickly turn over the reins; someone who was aligned with her personal philosophy on how the role should be run; and someone who could be her potential successor.
Was she concerned about the pushback that this new leader would not be in HQ? It was a factor in her selection, but she also knew that she couldn’t defer the decision with all that was at stake. She used her personal agency to move forward – when others were questioning her choice – and did everything possible to ensure this new leader’s success.
Will it all work out? Time will tell; for now, the choice appears to be a very positive one. That doesn’t mean there might not be implications down the road, but my client was prepared to deal with those if they arose.
In today’s VUCA environment, many leaders are faced with choices they have never had to make and where the outcomes are not clear.
That’s why understanding that this is now the “new normal” and that using your agency can often produce a more positive outcome.
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 to sign up now!
Okay, 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
- Is Your Confidence Infecting Your Team? (In a Good Way!) – Contagion: The second element of VUCA Ready leadership
- Is Pushback Derailing Your Leadership Vision? Pushback: The third element of VUCA Ready Leadership
- Mastering Leadership Impact: Build Influence & Thrive in a VUCA World