The document discusses how macroenvironmental factors like politics, economics, society and technology (PEST) shape our perceptions of the world. It argues that the current unstable PEST environment has increased feelings of insecurity, uncertainty and alienation among people. At work, these feelings can manifest as behaviors that negatively impact collaboration. The document concludes that leaders need to create a sense of belonging for all in the workplace by emphasizing common humanity, accepting different views, and making people feel valued in order to encourage positive contribution.

1. P.E.S.T. CONTROL IN
WONDERLAND
Margie Middleton
CCMG Conference
August 2016

2. Who the hell is Alice?
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• Late teens …
• Free spirit …
• A girl with dreams …
• A girl in transition …

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• Falls down the rabbit hole …
… into a strange new world

4. Finding the right fit
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5. Entering Wonderland
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6. So who the hell is Alice?
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Alice is me and you …
… and every person you work with; report
to; manage …
Alice is everyman who has ever had to
confront the unexpected; deal with
adjusting expectations; learn that what
they thought the world was like was not
necessarily the case.

7. P.E.S.T. Control in
Wonderland
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• Macro-environmental factors that influence
the way we perceive the world around us
• Political;
• Economic;
• Social; and
• Technological

8. Political Environment
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• Global instability and uncertainty
• Extremist politics dominating
• Rule book seems to have been thrown out
the window
• Apparently normal expectations of good
governance appear unreliable
• Traditional institutions in which we place
faith seem untrustworthy
• An angry world, at times seemingly quite
mad!

9. Economic Environment
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• Global economic downturn bordering on
depression
• Increasing pressure on limited resources
• Widening gap between the “haves” and
“have-nots”
• Globalisation driving commoditisation of
skill
• Rising unemployment
• Reduced investment
• Increasing poverty

10. Social Environment
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• Instability in political and economic spheres
causing anxiety and insecurity
• People binding around self-preservation
needs
• Small interest groups fighting for attention
and needs
• Exacerbated by being in a sustained
process of transformation
• Fragmented society
• High levels of alienation

11. Technological Environment
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• Information age
• Social Media dominance
• Tool for change
• Unedited; unverified; uncontained
• ? Unreal
• Data is king!
• Data versus Information
• Information versus Intelligence
• Access to information resulting in rapid
change
• Lowers sense of certainty
• Increases insecurity

12. Impact on Us
• Each of us is impacted on by the P.E.S.T.
environment we live in.
• Our opinions, beliefs, fears and hopes are
informed by how we feel about events around us.
• These feelings inform the way we see and
experience the world.
• It is from this worldview that we interpret and
understand our every day experiences
• The way we end up feeling about these
experiences inform the way we behave
• Our behaviour in turn affects how the people we
interact with experience the world and informs
their worldview
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13. Overall Impact
• History tells us that: -
– The more instability in society the higher the
levels of divisiveness
– The more alienated people feel, the higher the
levels of tension and factionalism
– The more fragmented groups are, the higher
the likelihood of extremism
• Divisiveness; factionalism; extremism all
promote Fear.
• Fear promotes intolerance;
• Intolerance promotes anger; and
• Anger promotes violence
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15. Impact at Work
• Work brings together disparate people to perform
a common series of tasks to produce a desired
result.
• People are not automatons though, they bring
their feelings with them to work.
• Feelings drive behaviour.
• We therefore cannot expect that the impact of
the P.E.S.T. environment will not manifest in the
workplace.
• As leaders we need to understand how feelings of
insecurity, uncertainty and alienation manifest in
behaviour.
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16. Event-Based
Cycle
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17. Systemic Behaviour
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18. How can we manage this?
• Work needs to be a collaborative environment
• People need to feel safe to function optimally
• Must create an atmosphere of safety
• Old concept of job-security needs to be replaced
with newer concept of security-of-self i.e.
– Accept the diversity of worldviews
– Welcome and encourage opinion
– Provide a non-judgmental audience
– Recognise that opinion is not the sum of the person
– Find common ground for compromise in facts
• Security-of-self creates a sense of belonging
• Belonging stimulates collaboration & contribution
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19. Implications
As Leaders we need to learn to: -
•Recognise our own worldview.
•Understand that it is not necessarily shared by all
those around us.
•Accept that different is not wrong … it’s just
different.
•Differentiate between fact and opinion.
•Endeavour to create a sense of belonging for
everyone in the workplace
•Emphasise our common humanity rather than
accentuating our diversity
•Be more interested in the why than in the what.
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20. Conclusion
• The most base emotional need in all humans
is to feel valued and valuable
• We inherently need to feel that we are
part of something that is bigger than
ourselves
• By creating a sense of belonging we enable
people to be confident in being their best
selves
• This encourages contribution to the
greater good, rather than inwardly
focusing on self-preservation.
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21. May your choices reflect your
hopes and not your fears
Nelson Mandela
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Margie middleton : 083-4098833
margiemiddleton@telkomsa.net