Introduction
Local government services are under pressure like never before. Their culture and structure must become more agile, resilient and value driven. Employee trust is being eroded and relationships are becoming strained. These tensions are being generated by the emergence of a VUCA environment.
What is VUCA?
The political environment is more Volatile, as future funding and job security become more Uncertain. Technology presents new challenges that are more Complex to manage. Opinions become polarised which produces even more Ambiguity. Consequently, both public servants and service users are feeling disengaged and disconnected from the decisions that affect them. Unrealistic expectations from politicians means statutory commitments go underfunded, poorly resourced and relationships get fractured. These are the warning signs that VUCA present a new combination of challenges that require a cultural and structural transformation.
What’s the problem?
The biggest casualty of VUCA is a frustration that just trying to do more with less resources only produces feelings of being overwhelmed and demotivated by a lack of care in the way problems are tackled, communication takes place and decisions are made. It’s becoming an insult to human intelligence, leading to growing resentment, resignation and the loss of morale because no one is listening to those who can take the action needed to make things work better.
What’s needed?
Anxiety grows when employees are not empowered or supported to work more effectively with their colleagues and stakeholders. An investment in human intelligence is needed to expand the power of collaborative action to realise the full potential of artificial intelligence to augment human creativity and productivity.
The biggest untapped resource is human intelligence, the ability to learn new ways of being, adapting to new situations, and using data to make sense of a changing environment. Structural change will be needed to grow indivdual and team responsibilities, with coaching to generate more positive and inclusive thinking.
This can be delivered through more intelligent use of different types of conversation. By engaging the innate potential of colleagues within and between teams, they will feel valued and able to trust 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 a service network of self-regulating teams.
The diagram below summarises the shift, focusing on team learning and coaching to establish new behaviours that can deal better with a VUCA context.
Courtesy of Steve Trivett – Life Leadership UK
What makes this approach different?
When local authorities are viewed as living systems, new insights emerge for strengthening team interactions, they become empowered, supportive and committed to care about a shared outcome.
Human relationships grow when there is a collective investment in developing the three core intelligences. This involves new types of conversation that focus on delivering the agreed commitments and actions that hold people accountable to achieve a shared outcome. This simple discipline, builds trust, team spirit and personal growth.
A corporate change initiative would be needed to embed the core skills needed to grow and integrate the following intelligences to produce a more complex intelligence that can deal with VUCA challenges. For example:
Growing INDIVIDUAL INTELLIGENCES to ensure employees care about how they turn up to support each other and demonstrate mutual respect, empathy, emotional maturity, reasoned opinions and listening skills.
Growing COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE to deliver quality feedback, consider multiple perspectives, agree shared values and take care to support and deliver their responsibilities to each other.
Growing ARTIFICIAL INTELLGENCE so that it becomes a valued resource to augment human creativity with data and information management skills to improve workflow, save time, increase productivity and improve decision-making.
Courtesy of Steve Trivett – Life Leadership UK
Combining all three intelligences into daily practice can build the confidence of teams to embrace uncertainty and adapt their actions to find new ways of working. It develops a sense of interconnectedness, adaptability, and a renewed capacity for self-regulation.
For example, when teams deliver on the offers and requests they make with each other, it builds trust and self-leadership, establishing a more dynamic and satisfying way of working. Seeing each other as “equal partners” builds team spirit and a common purpose. This helps everyone feel included and appreciated as valued members of high-performing team.
What are the strategic challenges?
The principle challenges presented by a VUCA environment are:
COMPLEXITY & INTERCONNECTEDNESS. The diversity of components and relationships within local government and the broader community demand close partnerships and caring collaborations. Interactions within teams and with stakeholder networks are needed to establish meaningful relationships with residents, business partners, and non-profit organisations. Open Space events are an effective way of generating shared visions and opportunities for innovation.
UNCERTAINTY & ADAPTIBILITY. Emphasising the importance of flexibility and creative thinking will help teams find new ways of being and doing things to address the challenges that everyone is facing. This obviously requires a willingness to face facts, explore possibilities, experiment with new ideas and approaches, to avoid resentment and group think.
AMBIGUITY & SELF-REGULATION. Encouraging a decentralised approach will give greater clarity, trust and authority to collaborative decision-making. When power and responsibility are distributed within teams and coordinated by them, conversations become more action focused. This aligns strategic goals with local autonomy, empowering communities and local services to engage as partners to address shared needs and priorities together.
VOLATILITY & DEMOCRACY. Introducing more democracy into the way teams interact to deliver shared goals for service users and neighbourhoods. This can be a creative way for public services to make sense of the complex interconnections needed to deliver what providers and users care about to deliver a well-coordinated and valued services.
Employees too want to feel valued and respected for doing meaningful work that makes them feel a sense of belonging. Everyone wants to be happy at work, supported to grow their skills and broaden their experience. This positive mood state prepares teams for a new future that will need them to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to reshape their work routines and relationships.
What is the VUCA challenge?
Money can only be part of the answer. The arrival of AI presents an opportunity to promote team dialogue, learning and listening initiatives, to deal quickly with practical concerns and work pressures.
A complete rethink could release the innate intelligence and creativity of everyone to reimagine and transform working relationships. This builds trust and mutual respect. Leadership must be part of everyone’s skill set, not just the role of one person. Leadership is a life skill that can be learned, shared, mentored and coached.
Leadership skills such as thinking creatively, strategically and abstractly are urgently needed for everyone to succeed in a VUCA environment. This paper suggests an infrastructure that would enable everyone to express the same leadership intelligence they use in family life, playing sports, organising events, etc., in their team.
How to navigate VUCA polariries and dilemmas
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 collective intelligences can overcome weaknesses in individual intelligences.
