In the first of this two-part series of posts, I shared some of the global level predictions and insights for both the short-term (the next 2 years) and the longer-term (the next 10 years) which included themes such as climate change, AI, social inequalities, conflicts and cyber security.
With the conclusion that we’re living in a very non-linear world where wider system impacts will reverberate through organisations, I’m following on with an exploration of what this wider world view is bringing for organisations and leaders in terms of change and uncertainty.
Sharosh Rajasekher, unsplash
Improving transformation and change
Change management came up in different guises in several of the reports I read as part of my research. According to Gartner for example, HR leaders are reporting that change fatigue and a lack of skills in change leadership will impact the ability for change to be delivered well.
And, one of McKinsey’s eight priorities for CEOs highlights the fact that digital transformation is simply not delivering on the benefits promised – there is more work to be done here. With the unrelenting march of AI, it’s essential that we get technology transformation right (putting people first will help with that…).
At last, the middle manager rises…
In my experience, middle managers haven’t had the respect they deserve for what they do in organisations, but with the increase in remote and hybrid working, that picture has been changing. Respondents in both the Gartner and McKinsey research mentioned this influential management group, with HR leaders recognising that they need greater support to fulfil their potential:
And, in a LinkedIn poll carried out by the Wellbeing Project, 50% of respondents who had responsibility for management development, said they would prioritise supporting managers to drive team wellbeing.
So, the need is there to support managers in their role, but the answer is not necessarily just more skills training. Perhaps we could start thinking how the role of the manager could be continually adapted in a rapidly changing world? Lots of food for thought.
Greater system thinking in organisations
In 2023, the UK’s Health and Safety Executive shared that 1.8 million people in the UK reported that they were suffering from work-related ill health in 2022/23, with approximately half of these cases down to stress, depression or anxiety. I’ve also been seeing a wealth of reports about increasing levels of burnout too and ‘too much’ has been a feature in many of my conversations during 2023.
With wellbeing continually being a focus for employees in an increasingly uncertain world, this will no doubt steer how organisations prioritise looking after their people.
However, rather than considering putting all the focus on equipping your teams with the right tools to help themselves and their own wellbeing, perhaps we could put an equal focus on how to improve the environment and the wider organisational system they work in too? Having the right leadership behaviours, positive working cultures and ways of working spring to mind as starters for 10 but the list goes on.
“When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows,
not the flower.”
Alexander Den Heijer
Leaders with courage, commitment and action
There will increasingly be a need for leaders to have the courage to commit to action and help to set and drive the global agenda. One of the eight priorities for CEOs cited by McKinsey for example, included ‘finding the right growth path’ and having the courage to commit to and stick with it.
Leaders of the future will need to develop and hone different skills to deal with a constantly shifting global landscape and have the courage to be change agents themselves as well as nurturing this in others. As Julian Birkinshaw, Vice Dean of London Business School summarises:
“We need leaders who understand the way business impacts the world and are willing to be part of the solution.”
So, as we look ahead to what feels like increasingly turbulent times, it also feels like the right point for leaders to be keeping their focus firmly on people – including themselves. Making time to understand what all this means for their own organisations, making the right shifts to stay on track and staying adaptable in the face of change, is going to be key.
I’d like to finish with a question for you… which leaders or organisations do you think are really looking at this and taking action on putting people first in their decisions and focusing on adaptability? I’d love to know!
Give me a shout if a chat about any of these points would be useful.
Sources
LinkedIn – 15 big ideas that will shape 2024
McKinsey – What matters most? Eight CEO priorities for 2024
TLNT – Get ready for the new year… what’s in store for HR in 2024
Poets and Quadrants – what will B schools prioritise in the New Year?
World Economic Forum - Global Risks report
Gartner - Top 5 HR Trends and Priorities for 2024
UK Health and Safety Executive – HSE publishes annual work-related ill-health and injury statistic for 2022/2023