Success in uncertain times

By Ghadeer Habash
Internationally Certified
Career Trainer

Today’s world is often described as “VUCA”, the acronym for volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. In this world, changes are unpredictable, dramatic and rapid, affect all aspects of our lives and take us on unclear personal and professional paths.

Yet, according to the VUCA model, you can still position yourself, your company or organisation for success despite the uncertainty brought by turbulence and rapid change. Training and soft skills, in particular, are always regarded as main pillars for companies’ personal growth and success. Nowadays, within turbulent times caused by economic recession and deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic, agility has become the most necessary skill. 

Agility (organisational and personal) is key to surviving and thriving in a chaotic world.

It is the ability to move quickly and easily. With the pace of change increasing and with no end in sight, teams and organisations need to learn how to work quickly on a daily basis by becoming more flexible and responsive. 

The pandemic and its devastating impact on business require a different mindset and skill-set. There is no room for long term plans as these become obsolete within an unpredictable tomorrow! You can plan for the short-term (one to three months), revise your plan and adjust it regularly. 

The SEAL model

The SEAL model is a valuable tool that can support you in reacting successfully to change, whether it’s a dramatic upheaval as in the case of COVID-19, the emergence of new competitors or unexpected shifts in overall market conditions. 

S: Scan the competitive landscape and opportunities to create new business

E: Experiment with new products or services, markets, new work practices 

A: Adapt the business or organisation as needed by evaluating what areas need to be changed (how people are organised, which processes and policies need to be adjusted, what workforce skills are necessary) 

L: Learn and evolve, cultivating an environment where your team can feel free to learn and applying a growth mind-set to everyday business so your organisation or company can evolve with the outside world.

COVID-19 has accelerated the digital transformation; one example is online learning in Jordanian schools and another example is how most of the working force has started to work remotely and conduct virtual meetings via Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Big transformations lead us to re-prioritise our goals and actions.

How can we be ready in an uncertain world?

Try to predict what’s going to happen in your business environment and plan for different scenarios. Think of the best- and worst-case scenarios and your action plan for each. A brainstorming session with your team can be beneficial in this exercise. 

Last but not least, hope for the best and work for the worst!

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine