The “Trump Effect” is on everyone’s mind with recent announcements of extensive tariffs sending the global markets into turmoil.  One day they’re on, the next day they’re off…  Whilst the medium to long term impact is difficult to assess, many executive teams we are working with are planning and calculating the potential impact across their supply chains.

With the ground shifting daily it can be challenging for CEOs to take decisive action, but here are three perspectives which may help:

  1. At OE Cam we have a strong track record of developing and facilitating executive teams.  Uncertainty, conflicting advice and changing data can lead to analysis paralysis and stall decision making.  So, it will be important to establish a new, faster cadence of leadership team meetings and agree a framework for more dynamic decision making.  An article we wrote a while back about ‘Decision-making in the #New Normal‘ might spark ideas.
  2. One of those challenges is how to adapt to secure new opportunities elsewhere, whilst at the same time take cost out – particularly if part of your supply chain connects to the US.  If you haven’t already done so, consider conducting an accelerated ‘smarter’ organisation review to build a common understanding of all the moving parts of your organisation and uncover missed opportunities for cost savings.
  3. Our final piece of advice is to refresh the team’s knowledge of agile thinking.  Our video on developing agile mindsets explores the four critical dimensions that can help leaders navigate uncertainty.  To successfully adapt and navigate a VUCA world requires more fluid ways of thinking. However, this goes against the brain’s natural desire for certainty. By constantly trying to predict what is going to happen, the brain decides how to keep us safe i.e. does it need to go into fight or flight mode. A caution highlighted by Hilary Scarlett (1) is the lure of certainty – ‘making a decision too quickly because the closure it offers is attractive and more comfortable than living a little longer in uncertainty’.

An ‘agile mindset’ is more comfortable with ambiguity and sees mistakes as learning opportunities rather than setbacks. For leaders, it’s about letting go of control and being comfortable with not always being the expert. It also means leaders being at ease with mentally ‘switching’ between the short and long term, action and reflection; and being self-aware of one’s own strengths and limitations, and able to adopt different leadership styles at different times to get the best out of their colleagues.

 

‘making a decision too quickly because the closure it offers is attractive and more comfortable than living a little longer in uncertainty’.

 

High levels of uncertainty over a protracted period of time can be draining…  If you would like us to help facilitate one of your forthcoming Executive team meetings using the principles of dynamic, complex decision-making, please contact one of our Partners: Paolo Moscuzza (paolo.moscuzza@oecam.com) or Gary Ashton (gary.ashton@oecam.com).

 

  1. Scarlett, H (2019) Neuroscience for Organisational Change: Korean Page 2nd Ed
Agile Mindset Insights Leading in uncertainty Trump Effect uncertainty