For many leaders the next few months, and most likely next few years, are going to be uncharted waters. We’ve certainly had disruptions and unfortunate events before, but nothing like this complete reset of the foundational approach to the way leaders do business. While there will be ongoing talk about “back to work,” the “talent shortage,” and a rethinking of the “work-life balance,” there is one area of leadership that I think isn’t being talked about enough: how the disruption is impacting the ability to lead a culture of innovation.

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While most business organizations are preparing for their employees to “return to work” this fall, they are  neglecting to also prepare them with the new capabilities that will be needed to survive and thrive in our collective next new normal.

This blog shares ideas and insights about the capabilities needed to be successful in the next new normal based on interviews, focus groups, and observations we have had over the past 18 months of working with learners within large global organizations.

Shifts in Capabilities

The main idea here is that capabilities have shifted. What we once new to be the critical capabilities of success are no longer valid and have been replaced by different or evolved capabilities.

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If you follow the news, you have heard business leaders and political leaders respond to a valid question with the response… “I’m not going to comment on hypotheticals.”

In an effort to decode what this unusual statement means; I believe it means the person is not going to give a full and real response unless every fact is known and everything is certain. And even then, they most likely will hedge giving a meaningful response.

Unfortunately, shareholders, consumers, and the general public dislike inauthentic responses like this and in many cases this approach simply won’t work.

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It’s that time of the year. That interesting, frustrating, exciting, tormenting time of the year when the glorious hot days of summer start winding down and the realization that September and the rest of the year are just a couple of weeks away.

Traditionally (pre-pandemic), things tended to find their own nice rhythm and balance as a lot more planning for the fall, the rest of this year and then the following year were done much more methodically and with more openness in June and July. But as we try to figure out the new normal at the same time the “delta variant” enters the mainstream conversation of business planning, it seems that all bets are off, and most business professionals are stuck in the uncomfortable place of trying to have both patience and urgency at the same time.

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One of the realities of being a leader in 2021 and beyond is that direct reports and others that work with you on projects and processes don’t wake up every morning thinking to themselves that today is the day I am going to make myself more accountable.

In a recent virtual Fundamentals of Business Leadership simulation workshop there is a scenario where two of the central characters, David and Ellen are having a conflict over David’s lack of communications on a critical project and his unwillingness to take accountability for his mistakes and delays. Ellen is frustrated that the work David was supposed to have done wasn’t done (she’s the one who must tell the customer) and David is upset that he thinks Ellen is being too hard on him and that he thinks the client is being unreasonable by demanding the project be delivered on time.

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