One of the certainties of Brexit is that it will require organisations, and people, to navigate through an extended period of uncertainty and complexity.
Whether Brexit is affecting an organisation at the macro level, triggering events such as site closures, or at the micro level with simple policy updates, this volatility can cause a sense of worry amongst an organisation’s people. Unprecedented levels of change can create unprecedented levels of stress and this requires expertly honed people and change leadership skills to manage effectively.
There are various ways you can prepare the people in your organisation to deal with these changes, including (but not limited to): coaching and team development, ‘leading through change’ coaching, leadership agility training and executive coaching.
What does good preparation look like for your top talent?
There are three types of planner we have identified for Brexit: those consciously planning, those who know they need to plan but haven’t start yet, and those that have no plan, who think Brexit won’t impact them. We’ve gone into these in greater detail here, but each of these planners may need to prepare their top talent for challenges that Brexit throws their way. The ability to effectively lead through change (something that Connor specialises in preparing leaders and line managers for) will be an essential skill to develop in your top talent. At the same time, to successfully help the organisation through change and uncertainty, your leadership should be focused on increasing the resilience of its employees.
A resilient team can be transformative, thriving in conditions that cause other teams to falter. Investing in leadership that inspires this resilience can be important, especially during periods as tumultuous as Brexit. One key way your leadership team can help to build this resilience is through clear communication. If the leadership team and executive team work collaboratively to communicate effectively with the wider organisation, they can present an image of unity and a vision to the organisation that helps to keep people motivated and engaged through uncertainty.
Programs, like the INSPIRED performance program at Connor, can help your top talent lead through change effectively. These programs are designed to help senior leaders to:
- Inspire excellence by creating a focused, clear vision and goal for their organisation.
- Identify barriers to progress, effectively understand them, then break them down.
- Build powerful communication skills to inspire, influence and engage people during a transformation.
- Increase their own resilience and flexibility through executive coaching, enabling top talent to manage their emotions and effectively respond to change.
- Create a collaborative environment which can enable high performance.
- Develop their own coaching skills so they can coach, mentor, manage and engage with their teams.
Talent retention and maintaining performance through a change of structure
Alongside leadership coaching, your organisation may also have individuals across the organisation who need coaching; either through an individual or team development plan. This coaching can help keep employees both motivated to work through potentially volatile times and also upskill them to improve their output. Supporting employees in this way can help your organisation retain its best talent through the uncertain times of Brexit, when losing them could cause even greater damage than normal.
Coaching development aimed at increasing resilience for both the leadership team and executives, like that offered by the INSPIRED program, can be beneficial when splitting up and re-forming teams, for instance after relocating to another country. By giving people the mindset and resilience to settle quickly into a new country, your organisation can enable a smoother transition period, improving retention and productivity after a team has been made smaller or merged.
Connor, inspiring talent
With years of experience in leadership coaching and helping organisations navigate change, Connor is here to support you. Our INSPIRED performance program can effectively aid leaders to prepare for the changes Brexit will bring about by enabling talent to reach their full potential and allowing teams to develop mutual trust. If you want to talk to us about this program, or any of the others we offer then please contact us or call us on +44 (0)1491 414 010.
