The document discusses leadership in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) world. It suggests that understanding neuroscience can help leaders be better prepared for constant change. Specifically, it notes that our brains find change difficult due to survival instincts like fight or flight. Effective leadership principles in a VUCA world include having a clear sense of purpose, embracing failure as an opportunity to learn, and having high expectations of people's potential. The document advocates for cultures where failure is seen as a gift and decisions are pushed down the organization to empower people.

1. Leadership in a VUCA World
Paul Devoy
Head of Investors in People

2. 1. Change is the “New Normal”
2. How can understanding Neuroscience help us be
better leaders?
3. What kind of leaders do we need for a VUCA world?
Themes

3. Change is the “new normal”

4. Can understanding neuroscience
help us be better leaders?

5. How are we programmed for change?
• Advances in technology giving us
greater insights into how the brain
works
• Our brains find change hard as it is
still largely driven by survival
instincts
• When we feel threatened, the fight
or flight instinct kicks in
• This takes energy away from
prefrontal cortex where we do our
rationale thinking
Nancy Kanwisher

6. How are we doing?

7. How are we doing?
• Office of National Statistics estimate value of UK workforce
is £17.2 trillion – that 2.5 times value of tangible assets
• Poor Management costs the UK £19billion a year (BIS
2012)
• Almost half of employers have staff with skills and
qualifications beyond those required to do their job*
• This equates to 16% of staff, or 4.3 million workers with
under-utilised skills*
• We are growing skilled people 7 times faster than we are
growing high skilled jobs*
*UK Commission for Employment & Skills (UKCES) Research

8. Leadership Principles

9. Start with why and harness the power of purpose
People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And
what you do simply proves what you believe”
― Simon Sinek

10. Aim to become “Anti-fragile”
“Wind extinguishes a candle and energizes fire.
Likewise with randomness, uncertainty,
chaos(Change):
You want to use them, not hide from them.
You want to be the fire and wish for the wind.”
- Nasim Taleb

11. Culture really does eats strategy for breakfast

12. Encourage healthy failure
• Organisations are more organic than
systemic
• Organism need stressors and failure to learn
and grow
• By trying to manage out failure we actually
make our people and organisation more
fragile
• Industries and organisations where failure is
seen as a gift for growth and learning are
more sustainable
• This enables empowerment & involvement
as you can push decision making down the
organisation and support people in learning
from failure

13. Have great expectations
• Talent is over rated
• Most people have the capacity
to achieve amazing things
• Leaders unconsciously stop
people from realising their
potential

14. Theory in action
Think
Yes!

15. The new framework – key principles
 The framework is based on the concept of sustainable
high performance through people
 Reflects the 9 key areas to enable high performance
through people
 Organisation ambition is at the heart of the framework
 2 new concepts added to the framework: Structuring
work and Sustainable success
 Organisations progress through the framework via
levels of maturity
 Each indicator has 3 themes
 Guiding evidence has replaced evidence requirements
 Leaders and People have replaced ‘Top Manager’
‘Manager’ ‘People’

16. Contact details:
www.investorsinpeople.co.uk
Paul.Devoy@investorsinpeople.co.uk
@DevoyPaul @IIP