Alumni blog: Coping with Transformation

Coping with Transformation

The business environment is changing at a fast pace, creating new demands and the need to adapt to changes quickly in order to survive. Change is hard and it comes with its own challenges including push backs from establishments (i.e. organisation, traditional competition/curtails, regulators), structures including organisation and social setups and lack of expertise to drive initiatives.

Leadership plays a critical role in embracing, driving forward and harnessing the value of transformation. And here are few inspirations and learnings from my journey on how to survive the challenges of transformation and change regardless of the instigator: 

Have a vision and remain true to your vision

Have a clear vision that will allow you to bond and communicate your aspiration including why you are doing it (i.e. market/other failures), what you will be doing and connect actions to people/society, economy, environmental and political influences. This should all align with investing in the right people and culture to help you drive it even in your absence. 

And finally, ensure not to just follow the crowd, but to believe in your instinct and remain on your lane.  

Surround yourself with the right people

Build and surround yourself with competent people that can see your vision and when the going gets tough, they remain loyal while continuously challenging your thought process.  Believe me, when making the hard decisions it can get lonely with all the barriers you have to face, and as you can't do it all alone being part of an ecosystem that complements and champions your aspiration is the key ingredient of success. 

Resilience to pivot quickly

The journey could come with failures and at times self-doubt and isolation. You need stamina to bounce back from your situation, keeping intact your alternative plans from a-z in parallel, and having the right people behind you will help to find the number ‘X’ route to your ultimate destination. 

Build and surround yourself with competent people that can see your vision and when the going gets tough, they remain loyal while continuously challenging your thought process. 

Embrace Learning mindset

With a fast-changing digital landscape, keeping up with technology trends and having foresight on how it will affect your organisation is key in maintaining relevance in the digital age. 

Some platforms that will help stay current and polish your insights include; playing a mentor role and guiding talented people which will lead to something new you will learn and get sharper in the process; practical experience which will help understand new applications to address your customers problems and engage better with employees; and finally a public event that may give exposure on the latest cutting edge research works.   

Along the way help others 

There is no true happiness than thinking beyond yourself, always be on the lookout for talent that needs a hand and don’t underestimate your power to be the beacon of someone's aspiration. 

When you make it or have the high platform, ensure you bring at least one person along with you and create the opportunity for those that need it badly. 

At the end of the day, your name and work will be forgotten, but your values and the impact you have made as a legacy will remain.