What does resilience and adaptability mean to you?
Common themes for 2021 off the back of the year we have had…resilience and adaptability. This article will explore what they mean (let’s get back to basics), how does it apply personally, how does it apply professionally and key practical tips to be more resilient and adaptable.
Common themes for 2021 off the back of the year we have had…resilience and adaptability. This article will explore what they mean (let’s get back to basics), how does it apply personally, how does it apply professionally and key practical tips to be more resilient and adaptable.
This all comes down to experience so keen to get your practical view and experience on this – what works and what doesn’t so we can share this as a community.
What does this mean?
Let’s go back to the basics, the dictionary.
Resilience is defined as:
the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
"the often remarkable resilience of so many British institutions"
the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.
"nylon is excellent in wearability, abrasion resistance and resilience"
Adaptability is defined as:
the quality of being able to adjust to new conditions.
"adaptability is an advantage in the harshly competitive global economy"
the capacity to be modified for a new use or purpose.
"this is a good example of the adaptability of listed buildings"
How does it apply to me personally?
Change is constant.
Being able to adapt to change and deal with things life throws at you (resilience) is critical to your happiness and success. That doesn’t mean that you are always ok or you are always having a good day. It means that you take what life gives you and make the best of it. Some days this is not easy, other days it is.
Adaptability allows you to proactive change based on a change in circumstance.
It means embracing the change and looking for the positives, opportunities and way to make the best of the situation. It’s an important skill in your personal life for the challenges that life will throw at us.
My mother always told me …life is not fair…which I didn’t like and thought maybe she was wrong but I have learnt this also to be true. Life throws its challenge at everyone – what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger – but it’s how you bounce back is your true sense of character. Everyone has a story, everyone has tragedy – so that doesn’t make you unique but your response determines the impact to your life – if you are resilient you bounce back / recover quickly.
Most of you will resonate with this BUT it takes some difficulty in your life for you to really know and appreciate how resilient you are. Your inner strength, what you can deal with and how you respond normally surprises you – so be kind to yourself and reflect if this is true for you.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”
How does it apply to me professionally?
Managing organisational change – adapting, responding and showing resilience through change will make you a strong leader and role model in the organisation. It’s hard to find leaders that are happy to champion change. To be able to manage change well with your team you need to explain the why and how it impacts them and the team. Be a good communicator.
Leading by example & navigating your team through change – it ties into the managing organisational change but leading by example in words and actions and ensuring a clear message of leadership to your team. Teams go on a journey with change – people respond differently and go through various phases of responding to change as demonstrated by the change curve below. As a leader you are responsible to manage and help your team work through change to allow them to be both adaptable and more resilient.
“When something goes wrong in your life, just yell ‘Plot Twist’ and move on.”
Organisational change requires strong leadership, an ability to be decisive, communicate and take the employees on the journey with you. This is the role of the CEO and the leadership team and will define the success of a leadership team – the ability for them to make change and take the employees on the journey.
Practical Guide
At Whiteark we are all about creating practical guides and tools to apply for key principles. So see two below that we think are great for improving adaptability and resilience.
The 7 C’s of Resilience:
Dr Ginsburg, child paediatrician and human development expert, proposes that there are 7 integral and interrelated components that make up being resilient in Children that can apply to all of us – the detail is below:
Competence
People need to be seen when they are doing something right and to be given opportunities to develop specific skills. If people in business have a particular passion for something or aptitude for a specific skill, activity or sport, we need to recognise this and let them know we’ve noticed and encourage them.
Confidence
The solid belief in one’s own abilities is everything. As we teach and nurture, we build confidence. We need to be careful not to undermine confidence but develop it by pushing our team to achieve and creating age-appropriate opportunities for experiencing success.
Connection
When people are part of a community (class, team, club) they know they aren’t alone if they struggle and that they can develop creative solutions to problems. Close ties to family, friends, and building a sense of community at work can get team members sense of security.
Character
People need an understanding of right and wrong and the capacity to follow a moral compass. A fundamental sense of right and wrong helps people make wise choices, contribute to the world.
Contribution
The experience of offering their own service makes it easier for people to ask for help when they need it. Once people understand the feel-good factor of helping others, it becomes easier to ask for help when it’s needed – being willing to ask for help is a big part of being resilient. People who learn to cope effectively with stress are better prepared to overcome life’s challenges.
Coping
People need healthy coping strategies to manage their stress. Some strategies involve engaging and disengaging such as breaking down seemingly impossible problems and challenges into smaller, achievable pieces, avoiding things that trigger extreme anxiety, and just letting some things go.
Control
People need to feel like they have a degree of control over their lives and their environment. When they realise that they can control their decisions and actions, they’re more likely to know that they have what it takes to bounce back.
4 Ways to Boost Your Adaptability Skills
Change Your Thought Process. Let go of the “Well, that's the way we've always done it” mentality
Force Yourself to Take Risks. Little progress is made without risk. ...how do you encourage failure in our organisation and innovation as it’s powerful and important
Encourage Others to Be Open Minded. One of the best ways you can develop an open mind is to encourage others to do the same
Embrace Learning. Always learn from others, from situations and make the most of everything
Well it’s fair to say that resilience and adaptability are key skills to be successful in life and work – so very important.
These skills and the ability to be able to apply them in business will allow companies to respond to changes in market, customer and consumer expectations and unexpected financial or commercial issues that occur. Building a leadership team of resilient and adaptable people will be a key differentiator for an organisation.
Determine what kind of leader you want to be and be proactive in creating this. Start by having a think about what resilience and adaptability means to you? Join the conversation online by Searching for Whiteark on LinkedIn. Whiteark chat with a chief every week to learn from leaders in their field so if you want to learn from experienced leaders tune into The Chiefs podcast series.
At Whiteark we have hands on practical experience helping leaders to build resilience and adaptability. Please reach out for a no obligation conversation.
Whiteark is not your average consulting firm, we have first-hand experience in delivering transformation programs for private equity and other organisations with a focus on people just as much as financial outcomes.
We understand that execution is the hardest part, and so we roll our sleeves up and work with you to ensure we can deliver the required outcomes for the business. Our co-founders have a combined experience of over 50 years’ working as Executives in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders. Reach out for a no obligation conversation on how we can help you. Contact us on whiteark@whiteark.com.au
What does good leadership mean to you?
There are many resources you can draw on to understand what makes a good leader but you will find there are many varied opinions. In my experience, I have learnt the most from the poor leaders I have worked for as they have really emphasised what not to do if you want to be a good leader. Below is a list of what to avoid if you want to make a good leader...
There are many resources you can draw on to understand what makes a good leader but you will find there are many varied opinions. In my experience, I have learnt the most from the poor leaders I have worked for as they have really emphasised what not to do if you want to be a good leader.
Below is a list of what to avoid if you want to make a good leader:
A leader who is self serving
A leader who doesn't listen
A leader who wants yes people that will not challenge their ideas
A leader who doesn't care about your career development
A leader that doesn't have your back
A leader that changes their mind
A leader who is more interested in being political than driving an outcome
A leader that doesn't communicate
A leader that doesn't practice what they preach
A leader that thinks they are the smartest person in the room
A leader that is more interested in being popular than making good commercial decisions for the business
A leader that is disconnected from the customer and consumer
Being a leader is hard, lonely and requires you to make difficult decisions for the good of the company, not individuals or divisions but the collective good. You don't always get it right, but you are focused on what matters most (clear priorities) and set the organisation up for success.
Being led by a good leader is life changing as you feel supported and you do your best work. The power of a team that is being led by an amazing leader that empowers, encourages and challenges is beyond belief.
As a leader you have a very important job - to coach, mentor, guide and set a vision for your employees - to get the best out of everyone. The power of getting people to run in the right direction, is unbelievable.
Everyone has worked for a bad leader and I hope you've had the opportunity to work for a good leader, regardless, make sure you proactively shape the leader you want to be knowing that your leadership will have a lasting impact on the company and your employees. Make sure it's a good legacy, one you will be proud of.
The Top Three
If you want to be an amazing leader there are three key things to consider:
Make decisions for the good of the business - hard decisions that will ensure the business achieves the outcomes
Treat people with respect and kindness and take care of people - don't underestimate kindness
Always listen - understand challenges and people ideas
Determine what kind of leader you want to be and be proactive in creating this. Start by having a think about what good leadership means to you? Join the conversation online by Searching for Whiteark on LinkedIn. Whiteark chat with a chief every week to learn from leaders in their field so if you want to learn from experienced leaders tune into The Chiefs podcast series.
“Wherever you are, be all there.”
At Whiteark we have hands on practical experience to help CFOs navigate and set their company up for success, whatever is the challenge. Please reach out for a no obligation conversation.
Whiteark is not your average consulting firm, we have first-hand experience in delivering transformation programs for private equity and other organisations with a focus on people just as much as financial outcomes.
We understand that execution is the hardest part, and so we roll our sleeves up and work with you to ensure we can deliver the required outcomes for the business. Our co-founders have a combined experience of over 50 years’ working as Executives in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders. Reach out for a no obligation conversation on how we can help you. Contact us on whiteark@whiteark.com.au
The life of a CFO – how to thrive
The CFO role is not an easy one - there is a real struggle between short term financial objectives and long-term strategic outcomes. Both are very important but need to be balanced. Getting your priorities right will ensure you thrive and not just survive which ultimately is the goal for every organisation.
The CFO role is not an easy one - there is a real struggle between short term financial objectives and long-term strategic outcomes. Both are very important but need to be balanced.
Getting your priorities right will ensure you thrive and not just survive which ultimately is the goal for every organisation.
While there is a lot to do, I have narrowed down 5 key priorities that any CFO can apply to their role.
The key 5 priorities of a CFO
1. Financial Governance
Focused on financial governance through month-end, balance sheet reviews and working capital management. This eliminates any surprises during an audit. Building a robust process for accurate and timely reporting and forecasting so that good decisions can be made in a timely manner. This creates confidence with regulators and auditors.
2. Optimise the financial position
A CFO is expected to proactively manage and optimise the financial outcome. This requires good forecasting ability, business partnering and the ability to make good commercial decisions.
Work through strategic and operational strategies to optimise the financial position of the company by:
o Actively focusing on working capital management
o Actively managing investments including cashflow timing
o Actively managing government rebates, tax benefits and obligations
o Actively managing strategies to deliver financial outcomes both short term and long term
3. Alignment to strategy
The CFO must work closely with the strategy department to ensure alignment between long term strategies, priorities and the 3-5 year business plan and associated financials. This clear linkage is critical to ensure it all hangs together and will give confidence to the board. The CFO must work through the linkage to ensure key metrics are measured and tracked to ensure lead indicators for managing the success/delivery of the strategy.
4. Holding the business to account
As the CFO it's your job to hold the leadership team and the organisation to account on expenditure, investment, key metrics and achievement of the plan. You must do regular call out of results and ensure you hold the business to account.
5. Building an exceptional team
The quality of the finance team is paramount and ensures the business has the commercial support for decision making. The role of the team to provide insights and business partnering is critical to ensure the Executives and others in organisations have the support to make good commercial decisions.
The CFO role is not easy, but it is enjoyable and rewarding helping the organisation navigate through strategy and financials and measuring success while having the confidence of the regulators and auditors. There is always a lot to do - so focusing on your top 4-5 priorities.
“Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to improvement. If you can’t measure something, you can’t understand it. If you can’t understand it, you can’t control it. If you can’t control it, you can’t improve it.”
At Whiteark we have hands on practical experience to help CFOs navigate and set their company up for success, whatever is the challenge. Please reach out for a no obligation conversation.
Whiteark is not your average consulting firm, we have first-hand experience in delivering transformation programs for private equity and other organisations with a focus on people just as much as financial outcomes.
We understand that execution is the hardest part, and so we roll our sleeves up and work with you to ensure we can deliver the required outcomes for the business. Our co-founders have a combined experience of over 50 years’ working as Executives in organisations delivering outcomes for shareholders. Reach out for a no obligation conversation on how we can help you. Contact us on whiteark@whiteark.com.au
Trees that deliver outcomes
It’s possible I am showing my age with this article, but I love driver trees! Also known as KPI trees… Every time I go into a business I build myself one of these. Fundamentally, driver trees help support growth and demonstrate how each business function can contribute to success. Here’s a rundown…
Driver trees help support growth and demonstrate how each business function can contribute to success.
It’s possible I am showing my age with this article, but I love driver trees!
Also known as KPI trees, every time I go into a business I build myself one of these. It helps to support growth and demonstrate how each business function can contribute to the success of the business.
Here’s a rundown.
What can a driver tree deliver?
Understanding the key drivers in the business results in the following benefits:
A better P&L result
A clear view of the metrics you need to measure
Visibility of where material value is derived
Understanding the sensitivity a lever movement has on P&L result.
Executing strategy and helping you prioritise
When building a driver tree, my advice is simple:
Don’t overcomplicate things – just keep it really simple. What drives value in the business? This is what you want all teams in the business to be focussed on.
Be clear on what this value is – P&L result, number of members, value to members? Value is different for all companies, so defining this upfront is imperative as it will drive the overall levers.
Decide what levers will deliver your desired outcome – confirm can it be measured – if it can’t, it can’t be a lever.
Highlight levers that are easy to pivot on – no matter how well versed you are in business, no one has all the answers. So starting off with levers that are easy to change gives you an opportunity to test what works.
Highlight the levers that are difficult to change – get ahead of the eight ball and work out a strategy that will allow you to have some flex in this space if necessary.
Measurement is power – using the concept of measuring what matters that I spoke about last week will help your business choose levers that are easier to action, give you a clear understanding of what’s working and what’s not and, most importantly, can be embraced and developed by your team.
If you’d like to us to share more detail on just how beneficial drivers trees can be to supporting your current strategy let us know and we will gladly send you a sample driver tree that you can manipulate in your context to help drive success.
Our team at Whiteark consists of a network of experts who work with businesses to map their value drivers and identify areas to drive an improved outcome. Whether you’d like advice on building a driver tree, or for hands-on help, we’re here. Get in touch on whiteark@whiteark.com.au.