Leadership, Paradox and Thinking Anew

I have been reflecting lately on superintendents and other leaders across our nation who are beset by the challenges of addressing COVID, while simultaneously needing to focus on what comes next. It is this paradox of leading the organization in the current, while saving enough mental and emotional bandwidth to consider what will be required a year from now that is of concern.

In today’s post I would like to briefly discuss the paradox of leading from a “current and next” perspective, how our inherent mental and emotional wiring impacts our thinking, and finally what leaders can do to manage the organization in this environment.

Let’s start with the fact that across much of the country we are experiencing a COVID surge (maybe a second wave), but we also know that a vaccine is on its way in the months to come. The paradox this creates is that we are focused on the current situation (the virus surge), but must also consider how the organization will operate once a vaccine is in place and we move beyond the pandemic.

It is our nature, when faced with cognitive dissonance (an outcome of experiencing paradox), that we try to mentally and emotionally focus on one reality, or the other, but not both (at least effectively). We try to simplify the scenario(s) so that the problem(s) are easier to solve, taking them one by one.

Instead, we must strive for “dynamic equilibrium”, a concept described by Wendy K. Smith, professor of business and economics at the University of Delaware. The notion being that leaders must work to effectively balance the current and the next simultaneously. Of course the reality of the situation is that we will never achieve “balance” between the two, but we must realize that the current and the next are on opposite ends of a continuum, and neither should consume us to the detriment of the other.

I am sure we can agree that focusing on the current is much more clear. Although we might not have all the answers, we do know the situation we face, and the factors involved tend to be more readily apparent.

The greater challenge is how to effectively address the “next” while focusing on the current. One way to do this is to develop a team which meets periodically with the singular goal of developing “what if” scenarios regarding where the organization might be a year from now. The group would present the scenarios to the leadership team on a periodic basis, and this information would inform the organization’s strategic decisions. Of course all organizations do this to an extent, but I submit to you that it is rarely an ongoing study of the future, but rather an annual single-shot planning session.

As superintendents and other leaders work in an increasingly challenging environment we must think of new ways to address an uncertain future. I believe thinking about “what’s next” must shift to becoming an active, ongoing activity rather than an annual event. The more expert we become in developing these future-focused systems, while effectively addressing the current, the better we will become at taming the paradox.

I hope you will provide comment on this post and any thoughts, ideas or recommendations you might have for us related to this concept. As always, we all grow when we share with each other.