We certainly live in exceptional times of globalisation with the coronavirus or COVID-19 spreading around the world and leading to very rapid changes in our everyday lives. These changes, including the radical actions of social distancing and governments closing cities and borders to slow down the pandemic, will have an enormous impact both on our professional and personal lives.
In a situation like this, it is not self-evident at all that neither we as individuals nor our organisations would make it without the radical actions taken. These radical actions call for determination, courage and firm leadership when truly needed.
Neither is it self-evident to maintain the ability to see any hope in a situation like this with many people bearing the consequences either directly from the disease or from the approaching economic downturn.
However, even in the darkest of times, maintaining a positive attitude and taking time to put things into perspective makes an enormous difference. Not only for building the right foundations for overcoming the hard times but persevering and generating abilities for successful renewal.
A foundation for putting things into perspective is continuous reflection. Unfortunately, many of us normally live such hectic lives where there is barely any time nor energy for reflection. Not to mention the lack of time for reflection in the heat of drastic change situations. Even though there would be time and energy for reflection that is not necessarily enough for establishing new insights. To be prepared one needs to expand the perspective beyond business as usual, which calls for establishing new skills and competencies. There are many tools and models to help with reflection, Superpower and Kryptonite is just one of them.
Another tool, appearing on the radar of many organisations to help prepare for the future, is scenario thinking. Scenario thinking becomes a vital part of strategic leadership, especially when trying to work out alternative action plans. Both scenario thinking and strategic leadership are skills, that can be further developed and practised before the scenarios become true.
Accordingly, to find a way for systematic reflection and in the best case, a test arena among a diverse group of professionals, where one’s established thoughts are challenged and expanded becomes utmost important in preparing for tomorrow.
Hanken & SSE provides a systematic approach for reflection and self-development in both the tailor-made leadership development programs and the triple crown accredited Hanken Executive MBA programme with strategic leadership for impact as the overarching theme. Our way of working in the Hanken EMBA enables you to think outside the box and test ideas with immediate feedback, we combine academia with pragmatic global business expertise. You will be able to apply your learnings in real-life, turning insights into action in your organisation for a result. You gain the tools to make an impact in any business setting. The return on investing in the Hanken EMBA can be life-changing, as many of the alumni demonstrate in their testimonials. Hear more about their experiences here.