| | DECEMBER - JANUARYMANAGEHRMAGAZINE.COM8In MyOpinionBusiness strategy is dead. Is that a fact? It is no question that the traditional strategic-planning model is no longer useful as it was while uncertainty is the new normal for most of our businesses. That approach worked well when markets were more stable and the primary factors influencing future growth and profitability were easier to forecast. However, in crafting strategy, companies often struggle to cope with volatility.The current business and social environment are not entirely under an employee's or manager's control. Nowadays, we are seeing some relevant companies from different industries announcing layoffs and/or cost reductions, while apparently, it is still early symptoms of a virus that will be spread across almost every single industry over the coming months. However, is on leaders to make a difference even when making these hard decisions. Every business decision must be taken according to some common values such as respect, loyalty, and/or gratitude, taking care of your people. Employee experience covers the whole lifecycle, from not being even a candidate until someone leaves the company, voluntarily or involuntarily. However, although virtue resides in the middle, the company's culture is founded on how your organization behaves in the extremes, hence, how you attract/ approach candidates and how you deal with leavers: Ergo, favorable times, and turbulent times.What is turbulence?Among the characteristics that distinguish turbulence from other critical situations are its large and uncontrollable scale, high velocity and fluctuation, its cascading effect, and unclear patterns of evolution, leading to a chaotic situation.Turbulence can come about because of both external and internal factors. It is commonly accepted that today's organizations (in both the public and private sectors) operate in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment (the VUCA or BANI worlds). Yet in times of turbulence, the situation quickly deteriorates and becomes explosive, full of conflict, insecurity, and unpredictability, and people involved can become polarized and unreasonable. This leads to irrational demands that make no sense from a logical perspective, and leaders have to face strong and relentless opposition that could escalate the conflict to the next level.Internal factors leading to turbulence are mostly due to significant changes in company strategy, resulting from a deteriorating performance or M&A activity, for example, as well as internal seismic shifts as a result of leadership succession or cases of serious deception. Very often companies experience turbulence both internally and from the external environment at the same time.A leader's role in times of turbulenceWithin the last decades, we all got shaken up by crises like the dot-com bubble in 2000, the subprime crisis in 2008, and the coronavirus we have faced since 2020. During these times, we all are searching for leaders, who guide us through the fog of uncertainty and give us hope and confidence. Every crisis has winners and losers, but every crisis also offers an opportunity. It is our responsibility as leaders to prepare our organization for the future afterward. Did you treat your employees well? Did you forecast wisely and carefully to avoid delivering bad By Ignacio Aranguez Montero, HR Director, AdidasIgnacio Aranguez MonteroLEADERSHIP IN TURBULENT TIMES
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