Leading through the Complexities of Change
Over the past 10 years, there has been a dramatic shift in the competitive landscape across industries around the world as a result of disruption.
According to Ian Williamson, Dean of School of Business, University of California, Irvine, Netflix and Uber are just a few examples of companies that have put companies out of business and created entirely new industries. Read this article to discover what strategies your organization should have in place to lead through the complexities of change. Ian Williamson will join the first edition of WOBI Management Week (June 28 – July 1, 2021), a 4-day digital event with world class business thought leaders that will address the latest trends and ideas in today’s most relevant management topics.
To survive the next 10 years, organizations should not undercover the next great technology, but understand the impact of human and social capital influences on firm and financial performance, in addition to better developing and managing the “talent pipeline” to drive firm innovation.
Disruption comes in many shapes and forms. Technology, competitive actions by other companies and the impact of social issues are all disruptive. Understanding how to safeguard against these forces and foster innovation, companies need to focus on these three key concepts:
1. Understand your workforce composition: There are different skills required to harness innovation and create change, and in almost every instance, diversity leads to higher performance. For organizational leaders, what are the knowledge, skills and abilities your organization needs to implement its innovation strategies?
2. Create an environment of enablement: Evolving a firm’s strategy or product offering will require assembling a very different workforce. When Netflix shifted from a DVD distribution company to a streaming service, it needed to attract streaming experts, coders, and filmmakers. They needed to create a corporate culture to match the known behavioral qualities of that new workforce. Foster trust, risk-taking and creativity over the values you previously relied upon.
3. Enlarge the talent pipeline: Success in talent management is driven by how much talent companies can access, develop and utilize properly. Take the example of a struggling community. Housing is cheap because no one wants to live there – they cannot attract talent. The existing population is less educated because of a lack of tax funding to schools – they cannot develop talent. The most talented people want to leave – they cannot be utilized. Companies are no different.
If you want to learn more, don’t miss Ian Williamson in WOBI Management Week, who will reveal the keys to meeting the strategic challenges of the changing competitive landscape.