The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting nearly every aspect of our daily lives, but as Henna Inam points out in Wired for Disruption, agility is already a hardwired trait in each of us. Her timely book gives us the 15 accelerators (specific tools and practices) we need to switch on our in-built agility in order to thrive and be a force for good in times of disorder and chaos.
There are five big challenges of leading in disruptive times:
First, our neurobiology sees disruptive change as a threat to survival. This evolutionary reaction slows down our adaptation by reducing cognition and increasing burnout. Second, our old mindsets and biases prevent us from seeing new reality clearly. This prevents us from being creative. We need meta-learning to learn, unlearn and relearn. Third, our threat states and fluid teams of the future make collaboration harder, just when it is most needed to create opportunities. Fourth, while we recognize we're more interdependent than ever, we are missing the skill sets to influence our wider eco-system. Fifth, upskilling and growth is urgently needed for millions to solve our collective challenges. This requires a step-change in our ability to grow ourselves and others.
These are Henna Inam's Five Shifts in Agility that we need to switch on:
1. Neuro-Emotional Agility: the ability to activate neural states that accelerate our adaptability.
2. Learning Agility: the ability to rapidly learn, unlearn, and re-learn based on the situation in front of us.
3. Trust Agility: the ability to develop just-in-time trust with diverse fluid teams and energize creative contributions.
4. Stakeholder Agility: the ability to influence multiple stakeholders with competing needs toward solutions that serve the broader ecosystem.
5. Growth Agility: the ability to grow ourselves and others to accelerate a future-ready workforce.
Disruptions are opportunities to re-imagine, re-invent, and re-invigorate - to create something better. We have many collective problems to solve for a thriving planet that works better for all. Henna Inam's Wired for Disruption helps each of us be inspired, use our voice, and activate the embedded agility already within us. You can join her community of leaders inspired to be a force for good in disruption at www.transformleaders.tv
