“The habits you’ve gained so far in your career, which have brought you success, are now delaying your progress.” These are prescient words of caution from coaching guru Marshall Goldsmith in his 2008 book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.

Leadership in 2010 and beyond brings significant new challenges, not least around the ability to lead your organisation - from the board to the front line - through uncertainty. You will be aware of the uncertainties impacting housing at the moment such as: the wide ranging economic variables; changing political possibilities (including the complexities of the Total Place agenda), increasing local community demands around service provision and evolving social issues both nationally and within the different neighbourhoods you serve.

When we add into the mix issues like affordability of housing, supply and demand, the energy and carbon agenda and the growing homelessness problem, the uncertainties are stacking up.

"For a company to take strategic uncertainty seriously it must avoid making commitments in the face of uncertainty and instead create strategic options that can be exercised or abandoned depending on how those uncertainties are faced. It needs a strong corporate office to manage it."
Michael Raynor, The Strategy Paradox

The job of leading in uncertain times falls firmly in the lap of the board and executive. In the first instance, their role is to ensure the organisation’s survival against a range of threats. Secondly, they need to create a different, more flexible approach to leadership. There needs to be unity of purpose and a shared understanding of the context you are operating within. Our view is that leaders need to ‘think their way out of recession’- and engage people to act on it. As Goldsmith describes: “the most egregious source of corporate dysfunction: the failure of managers to see the enormous disconnect between understanding and doing.”

Senior leaders in housing need to interpret market volatility and build the ability to respond quickly to threats and opportunities. And leaders need to invest more time in planning for the future. Some of the key steps include:

• Review context: look at the range of possible changes that will impact your strategy. In their ground breaking research, MIT’s Ancona and Bresnan considered why good teams can fail. One of their core findings was that teams often begin by brainstorming ideas, rather than gaining a firm grasp of the context.
• Anticipate: identify the key drivers of change and the range of possible futures e.g. the impact of changing social policy and the demographic issues of elderly people staying in their homes.
• Formulate: identify 4-6 scenarios and devise core strategies - the things that are most likely to happen. Develop contingency strategies, things that are less likely but would have high impact.
• Plan: how will your organisation manage the core and contingent elements? Ensure your processes have the flexibility to prepare for any changes to your mode of operation.

In times of uncertainty, staff and board members look to leadership to give them confidence. The board want the security of knowing all eventualities are being considered and will want to add value to their broader strategic thinking. Staff want to know things are ‘safe’ and with the leaders giving them clarity around what is expected of them. During periods of change staff need more communication on plans and priorities. Leaders need to engage their staff to ensure their concerns and ideas have been considered.

We encourage senior teams to ask these fundamental questions:

• What is the purpose of the leadership team at this time?
• What are our priorities?
• What impact do we need to have?

All of these issues can mean leaders need to allocate their time differently. They need to review the future carefully and ensure they create ‘organisational wisdom’ about the key issues impacting them. They need to engage the board and engage staff.

In short, you need to build an aware, responsive, innovative organisation that can survive and thrive in uncertainty. Your leadership could make all the difference.

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