How do they do it? These experts share the skills and tools that keep them at the frontline during industry disruptions and rapid changes.
Ever wondered how some leaders manage to stay ahead when everything is shifting beneath their feet?
We do – so we set out to find out.
From embracing agility and innovation to fostering trust and collaboration, our experts have shared their strategies for navigating the chaos. Check out these tips on staying adaptable, prepared, and connected in the ever-evolving business landscape.
Regina Lysaught
Founder and Director: VEE Agency
In the dynamic events industry, adaptability is paramount – now more than ever. Rapid changes and disruptions are the norm, requiring professionals to stay agile and proactive. VEE recommends:
Embracing agility, which requires being willing to pivot swiftly in response to new developments, whether they’re technological innovations, shifts in consumer behaviour, or unexpected disruptions.
Cultivating innovation, which allows for the exploration of new approaches and technologies, ensuring relevance in an ever-evolving landscape. Always be on the lookout for new technologies to change the offering to the market, which makes the lives of your clients and their consumers more interesting and engaging.
Prioritising preparedness by developing contingency plans and robust communication channels to help mitigate the impact of unforeseen circumstances. Always have a plan B and C.
Focusing on stakeholder engagement; strong relationships are invaluable assets. Keep talking to both your suppliers and your clients, and understand how you can help support them. People all need help in difficult and changing times, and it won’t be forgotten.
Continuously learning and staying connected to the industry and peers will help you to see how the changes are affecting the industry. You may see gaps and be able to offer a service or solution which you had never thought of before.
Also on The Big Smoke
Devan Stoltz
Chief Revenue Officer (Director): CapitalAI
The whole approach to how CapitalAI tackled industry was based on being able to handle rapid changes and disruptions across clients. CapitalAI is focused on modernising operational technology. It’s an industry which still maintains a lot of legacy but must now start to adapt and embrace new technologies to compete globally and thrive locally.
With the introduction of connected systems through the revolution of Industry 4.0, this has meant machinery is no longer a stand-alone environment. Rather it has become a connected ecosystem, and being able to leverage the data is the difference between struggling or capitalising a market. CapitalAI enables customers to adopt best of breed technologies such as AI, with the focus being on ease of use. If a company believes it helps others adapt to change and disruption, it must first adopt and live that mantra internally.
Built from the ground up, our systems and processes have leveraged AI in every aspect, creating an agile and flexible workforce. This experience is what we take to our clients.
Also on The Big Smoke
Christa Smith
Director of Student Services: Sheridan Institute of Higher Education
Establishing a collaborative and trustworthy team is the key to navigating rapid changes and disruption in an industry.
Leaders need to choose employees they can trust, and give them authority to make decisions. This enables the business to move through rapid changes and disruption knowing that the team can handle the challenges.
Each team member should be encouraged to look after themselves and take time off work, so they are mentally ready for challenges.
Servant leadership is an important way leaders can establish a team in which everyone feels valued. Seeing leaders who do not consider any task beneath them helps establish a team culture in which everyone feels valued.
Managing by walking around will assist with collaboration. Those team members who are thinking an issue through will usually value the opportunity to discuss that issue with a leader. Staff will know they aren’t interrupting a meeting or phone call, and leaders will also collaborate more as these important discussions take place. This will eventually become commonplace, and the team will work through rapid changes and disruption in a healthier way.
Also on The Big Smoke
Yannick Lawry
Counsellor: Big Light Counselling and Coaching
The biggest disruption we’re experiencing at Big Light Counselling and Coaching is client perception of time poverty. At both a corporate and individual level, clients now want to develop deep personal or organisational understanding and transformation in minimal time. Counselling clients are less willing to commit to 10 weeks of personal reflection and emotional exploration, and organisations for whom we deliver L&D courses around personal and team transformation are much less willing to release teams for a full day’s training than they might have been even three years ago.
While we still hold firm to our values of mindful and patient objectivity to achieve transformational goals, we’ve willingly responded to what you might call “the demands of the market”. We’ve ensured we weave these key values through shorter, targeted, modular training sessions for business clients which can be rolled out at regular intervals. For personal counselling, we’ve developed group workshops combined with digital self-reflection tools, all of which encourage continuous progress for clients within limited timeframes. These tools allow clients to engage in self-reflection at their convenience, checking in with a real-life counsellor by phone along the way for when only genuine human empathy will do.
The post Expert opinion: Handling rapid industry changes and disruptions appeared first on The Big Smoke.