Leading strategically through uncertainty and change By Stephanie Oley

Was there ever a time when business leaders didn't have to grapple with change? Probably not in the lifetime of anyone reading this blog.

Case in point: right now, Australian businesses are juggling the upheavals of a talent war, disruptive technologies, spiralling costs, and geopolitical turmoil. None are likely to abate any time soon.

However, a strategic approach to leadership can help businesses work within such dynamic scenarios. According to Lindley Edwards, a facilitator of CCE's Strategic Leadership for Organisational Transformation Course, the best response starts with an awareness of how change happens – and the frameworks available to support this.

Edwards notes that, in Switch: How to change things when change is hard, authors Chip and Dan Heath write: 'The brain has two independent systems that are at work all the time… emotions and rationality.' Our emotional side is instinctive, feeling pain or pleasure – including the discomfort, exhaustion and uncertainty associated with change. The rational side deliberates, analyses and looks into the future.

Good leaders can learn to harness these conflicting forces effectively, and Edwards explains the five broad shifts in thinking that participants learn in the course.

Strategic shift #1: Real insights boost project success

Often, teams start with the change project itself when in fact they should start by questioning assumptions around the change. This means deploying first principles thinking – what change is required, why, and what is the best means to achieve that change state, Edwards says.

Curiosity is essential, which is why a large part of leader training is about learning to ask the right questions. Edwards cites the work of Michael Bungay Stanier as a starting point, particularly his book, The Coaching Habit. Bungay Stanier's seven questions are deceptively simple and incredibly powerful, such as 'What's on your mind?' or, 'And what else?' Leaders must learn to ask questions like these and distil the answers into action.

Strategic shift #2: Engage your stakeholders from the start

Not many people like large changes, especially when imposed by external factors beyond our control.

- Lindley Edwards

Change-aversion is discussed extensively in Switch, with Chip and Dan Heath assigning the blame to factors including the physical effort and mental clarity required.

This discomfort can be alleviated by identifying the main stakeholders, then devising communication pathways to ensure they buy in, Edwards explains. She adds that many of the ongoing digital transformations at Amazon have been inspired by such insights. 'Think of how Amazon increasingly tailors its offer – choice and price as well as how these customers are targeted,' Edwards says. This is because customer preferences help to dictate product selection, allowing the retailer to serve ever smaller cohorts.

Strategic shift #3: The human dimension is essential to achieving change

Soft skills such as self-awareness will help leaders to manage through difficulties and resistance, Edwards continues. 'It's good if a leader can understand their individual style, then adapt this to the circumstances or stakeholders. For example, how can you influence the most change possible – is it by influencing your colleagues, your team, the board and senior leaders – or any variety of external stakeholders?'

From this awareness, leaders can create narrative structures suited to these stakeholders, and be prepared to repeat these messages often.

Strategic shift #4: Leaders must adapt constantly to new situations

Change usually leads to more change, meaning that good leaders can rarely afford to sit back in caretaker mode. Again, the business world is full of inspiring examples of ceaseless innovation.

Edwards cites another example from Amazon. The retailer was experiencing such heady growth, they needed to rethink their IT infrastructure to allow teams to easily store and access vast troves of data. This move led to Amazon launching a precursor in 2006 of AWS, now a multibillion-dollar business in its own right.

Similarly, the timely response to market shifts led to Qantas's launch in 2003 of Jetstar, capturing budget-conscious travellers while retaining its own premium image.

Another example of strategic response to unintended change is The New York Times, which observed reader engagement increasingly coming not from the news, but via its recipe sections and word games such as crosswords and wordle. Subscriptions since around 2011 have increasingly bundled these features, with The New York Times now having the most paid subscribers of any English-language publication.

Strategic shift #5: Track and monitor your metrics

Edwards' final piece of advice will come as no surprise: Be able to show progress. 'From analysing the stakeholder and their objectives, you will need to know what constitutes success for each one. Set meaningful metrics. They should be quantitative and qualitative, drawing on signals such as engagement and confidence,' she says.

Leadership is a complex topic. Depending on an individual's skills and experiences, the key issue may be leadership communication, leadership for women, critical and creative thinking, or anything else. Now, you have the added option of understanding how to think strategically as a leader.