December 14, 2021 - C-Suite Network™

The Gordian Knot: The New Frontier 2022

THE GORDIAN KNOT: Business is Emerging – The New Frontier

The emergence of Covid-19 has been and continues to be the catalyst for the “great re-set” across all facets of life, and business is no exception. Many of the tenets that we have taken for granted are now being challenged and re-evaluated across the globe. Business “as usual”, what is “usual & customary”, and “common assumptions and beliefs about business” are up for grabs.

The Gordian Knot is the perfect analogy for our current environment. Cutting the Gordian Knot to create a solution for seemingly unsolvable problems confronts many businesses today. Lockdowns, supply chain disruption, inflation, the great resignation, retaining talent, and employee re-evaluation that drives the business forward require meaningful work aligned with each employee’s purpose. The balance of power is shifting from employer to employee. The hierarchal model of “one up – one down” as the preferred management style is dead. For many business leaders, this will be the new frontier not lived from their previous experiences. New ways of thinking, organizing and aligning stakeholder interests will require leaders to engage in their own personal transformation. For many leaders, this will test their integrity, morality, ethics, and true ability to step into their leadership in new ways not previously known. This is the Gordian Knot.

So, what is leadership? What will be required to lead the enterprise into this new frontier?

“It is a space in which being itself can come to be more fully, show itself more wholly,

and become more present in the world. This disclosure of the authentic self always

Involves a “clearing away” process that creates a clearing-for-action in which the leader

Is free to act, rather than being constrained by conventional notions about what it is to be

a leader and what it is to exercise leadership effectively. -Werner Erhard et AL., 2011

Globalization, technology acceleration, speed-to-market, digitalization, shortened life cycles, and customer experience are already a being considered by many enterprises. New thinking, new business models, new understanding of the customer are essential to thrive moving forward. And now, much of the previous foundation built will need to be excavated and replaced. The status quo is no longer an option. Building a new foundation will require new ways of operating both internally and externally. It will require a new pact with all stakeholders, especially the organization and its employees. Titles, situational leadership, and even management will no longer inspire your workers or lead to desired results. Freeing and empowering your employees to step into their genius – the reason you hired them in the first place – is mandatory. What do you think is the new modus operandi? Critical thinking is required to get this right.

To thrive in the great re-set, there will be a plethora of strategic initiatives foundational to excelling:

A robust strategic intent around sustainability
Mastering transformation from the enterprise to the cloud – exponential growth
Empower & develop your talent – internal and external
Speed-to-market is essential for impact
Align your purpose, vision, and values to how you operate

While these strategic initiatives are a roadmap in the new frontier, they are about the business. What are your strategic initiatives around all stakeholders? To thrive in the new frontier, building an “ecosystem” is mission-critical.

In conclusion, those who are willing to think exponentially, deploy technology exponentially, and set exponential goals are the enterprises that will thrive. In the new frontier, it is the enterprise where leaders recognize that to achieve sustainable scale and growth, people demand meaning in their lives and work, people need to know they are valued as a lived experience, and the purpose of the enterprise in some way must meet the purpose of each individual employee. Bottom line, if leaders don’t grow their leadership in leading others, the workers will cut the Gordian Knot. They will decide the enterprise is insurmountable to their lives and will search out an enterprise that will align with their purpose and values. It is a choice. What say you?

Exploring Oneness and Togetherness in the Changing World of 2022

In 2022 the strength and power of building the connections and relationships with those we disagree with will become more and more essential. Difficult discussions will have to be navigated with power and grace.
Regardless of the situation at home with family, in business, or in social situations, we are all looking to be seen and heard for our uniqueness and accepted into the tribe we work with and live with.

The past 21 months have fractured plans and lives in many ways. Some people and businesses have managed to move forward with change and thrive. Others are still looking for any form of normalcy they knew in hopes it would return. Many are still hanging on to a thin thread wondering what’s next to knock them off their feet and asking, “how do I even survive?”

When is the last time you felt at peace with yourself, the life choices you’ve made, and know you were seen for who you are in a meeting, or maybe even at a family gathering? For some, it is the one thing missing in our lives. What we long for more than anything is to be seen and accepted for who we are uniquely.

We all have the need to belong and yet wonder if we are seen, heard, or recognized in many conversations. Knowing who we are and learning how to succeed with fast-moving technology requires looking at the big picture with logic as well as heart to be in connection to a group, business, and even the world.

As we approach the beginning of any year, we frequently look for clues of what to expect and what influences the world around us has in store for us. Looking at it from a different perspective can prove interesting.

Let’s begin with the numerology for 2022. Numerology is the study of numbers in your life. You can uncover information about the world and each individual person by using Numerology. Numerology is seen as a universal language of numbers. The number 2 shows up in 3 times in 2022. When we reduce 2022 by adding the digits together to a single number, we get 6.

At its very core, the 2 in numerology represents partnerships — the coming together or balancing of two individual people, concepts, or things. A feminine force with power and grace. The power of 2022 is learning how to stay calm in any situation. The number 6 signifies domestic happiness, harmony, and stability and comes with huge responsibilities such as family obligations, children, and the home.

Part of developing harmony and stability and happiness is emotional intelligence and one of its key components is empathy. Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another’s position. In the family, if we start with our children. We can learn how to teach empathy to kids when they are young and help them translate empathy into action and avoid and/or disrupt the trauma we see today in schools and neighborhoods.

The one constant in today’s world is change. As fear and uncertainty increase, we look to minimize risk. Instead, we must explore new ways to engage with empathy and understanding of others. Emotional Intelligence is outpacing IQ in importance for being able to fit in or stand out in work and play. For business, it helps define and create the culture and improve the dynamics between employees and management. Even sites like Indeed now include benefits of emotional intelligence for applicants and companies to explore.

The balance between being part of a tribe and still your own person is learning to use emotional intelligence with other intelligences to manage yourself and engage with others with respect and understanding of their values and how you present yourself in social situations. Exploring how we make the most of life in 2022 will prove interesting.

Author – Susan K Younger, Architect of Relationship Engaging Humanity in the Workplace and Life
Certified B.A.N.K. IOS Coach and Certified and Licensed Trainer for Codebreaker Technologies |NAKB
You can reach out to susan@skyounger.com and to learn more about how to use the B.A.N.K. IOS to clarify your purpose, vision and equip yourself to make the most of 2022. Begin by cracking your BANKCODE.

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