IMPACT. This is a word we all use—but how do you know when you’re really making a difference? Watch Bobbie LaPorte’s October 15 video to learn about this critical fourth element to leading in an ever-changing VUCA world.
Impact: the fourth 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 fourth element in building the leadership ability to normalize the unexpected and tackle whatever curveballs are thrown at you.
And that element is “Impact”; meaning, what does your influence in the organization look like? Are you continually assessing the strength and breadth of your network of allies and advocates?
We all know the importance of building a strong, evolving professional network to support you and your team’s success. Your network is part of your value and currency as a leader, particularly during these times when companies are looking for cross-functional leadership to solve the organization’s most complex problems. Add to that the consequences of ongoing reorganizations and layoffs – the increasing velocity of network change – and you might find that entire parts of your support structure have disappeared. That is why continually developing and curating your professional network is critical to building your Influence and Impact in your company and “staying in demand” in the market.
How do you create Impact in an ever-changing VUCA environment?
Let me share an example from one of my more network-savvy clients. He was leading an internal venture that works cross-functionally to support the company’s social responsibility and philanthropic work. So, by nature, he had to build strong working relationships with leaders across the organization to meet his goals and achieve the company’s mission.
However, he went beyond the transactional nature of his work with other leaders to really understand how he could help them achieve their goals and show the value of connecting their leadership and teams to the broader company vision to be a socially responsible community partner.
With this “value-creation” approach, he earned a reputation as a leader who always focused on how he could support others in the organization, continually nurturing established relationships and reaching out to new leaders to see how his team could help them. As a result, he was often tapped for high-visibility, cross-functional, high-leverage assignments where he could apply his organizational knowledge, problem-solving, and masterful relationship-building skills.
Now that’s Impact!
This Leadership Impact resulted in a C-Level role leading a newly established function that was the perfect fit for him, one that would not have been available to him if he had not taken a very strategic and selfless approach to building his network, and consequently, his Impact and Influence in the organization. This type of Impact is such a critical element in becoming VUCA Ready®.
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 and 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?
FREE Introduction to Navigating Uncertainty Course →
1. Click the link
2. Setup account
3. Unlock the course free