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How can Local Authority services deal with VUCA?

Local Authority services are under pressure like never before. The culture must become more agile, resilient and value driven. But employee trust is being eroded and relationships are becoming strained. These tensions are being generated by the emergence of a VUCA environment

The political environment is now more Volatile, as future funding and job security become more Uncertain. Technology presents new challenges that are much more Complex to manage. Opinions get polarised which produces even more Ambiguity. Consequently, both service providers and service users are feeling  disconnected from each other and disengaged from the decisions that affect them. Unrealistic expectations from politicians means statutory commitments go underfunded, they are poorly resourced and relationships get fractured. 

An investment in people is urgently needed to enhance their human capacity by expanding the power of the team, to realise the full potential of artificial intelligence to  augment collective intelligence. 

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BRIDGING THE VUCA GAP
WITH COMPLEX INTELLIGENCE?

Teams need to adopt a more intelligent approach by using different types of conversation to engage the innate potential of colleagues within and between teams to solve problems and make decisions. When team memebers hold themselves accountable they feel valued and capable of  trusting each other’s contribution. This shift of responsibility will require a move away from a top-down directed approach to a bottom-up initiative that develops service networks of self-regulating teams.

The diagram below summarises the shift of focus on individual competencies and team coaching to establish new behaviours to  cope better with VUCA situations.  

NAVIGATING VUCA POLARITIES AND DILEMMA

The principles and behaviours for integrating the three intelligences are outlined in the diagram below. It focuses on learning the new skills needed to bridge the VUCA gaps.  Embedding the three into Complex Intelligence helps teams understand systems thinking and how to navigate the polarities and uncertainties in the political and social environment. The diagram below explores how individual and collective intelligences can overcome their weaknesses.

“Steve is a great listener. He works with me to find possible answers together. A man of wisdom,  humanity and humility. His coaching style is warm, engaging and supportive. His questions are always respectful and insightful. I have treasured my relationship with him over many years as he has the knack of triggering fresh thinking around my business and personal challenges.”  

Winston Moore. Managing Director. Moore Asociados – Corporate Communications.

“I’ve worked with Steve over many years as a colleague on major corporate change projects. His coaching and leadership insights have been an invaluable source of guidance for me. Steve is generous with his time, always humble, compassionate and willing to listen. He continues to help me navigate personal and professional challenges.”

Lorna Shaw. Director. Lorna Shaw Coaching Ltd.

“I approached Steve to help me explore some wicked issues facing me personally. He helped me see things from different perspectives and rethink my approach to interdepartmental teamwork. I gained a deeper awareness of myself and my life purpose from our conversations”

Virginia Simenda. FCCA.
Financial Controller & Business Partner

I am sharing my experience as a change agent gained over 50 years. My mission here is to help leaders and coaches find actionable insights and solutions to thrive in a VUCA world. Leadership in this new era requires innate wisdom, artificial intelligence, and a collective consciousness to achieve social cohesion and ecological sustainability. 

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Working with AI tools requires reasoning and sense-making skills. They prompt new thoughts, questions and autonomous systems to produce transformational outcomes. For example, using smart assistants, bespoke training or scheduling tasks. Leaders must transform their own thinking and build collaborative teams to drive forward technological changes.

Observing human behaviour and reinterpreting patterns of social interaction to create new models capable of adapting to a more volatile, uncertain and ambiguous world. You learn to enhance performance, share accountability and value innate wisdom. Leaders must be open to look at relationships between people and happenings in new ways.

Choosing different types of conversation to support coordinated action and better decision-making. Finding agreement around what is cared about to develop practical insights and relationships to use in Agentive AI tools and simulations. The leader relies more on the wisdom of the team and the data to make important choices.