Volatile. Uncertain. Complex. Ambiguous. If you are leading a team or running a business the VUCA world is nothing new – you know that part of being a leader is expecting the unexpected, preparing contingencies if plans go awry, and making sure the team stays on track during challenge periods.What makes our current moment unique is that the whole world is experiencing a VUCA event in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic, and businesses are having to adapt to uncertainty at a faster rate than ever before – with no end in sight. As a leader, how can you keep your team pushing ahead in this unprecedented environment?Read on for some anti-VUCA strategies that will keep you one step ahead of the wild up-and-downs we’re all experiencing right now – and ensure that your team doesn’t get swallowed up by events outside of their control.

Only three months into a new decade, and 2020 is already presenting the kind of challenges that most of us never thought we’d experience. Leading your team through mass disruption caused by a global pandemic? Seems unlikely… until you’re in the thick of it, trying to normalize operations in the midst of extreme uncertainty. Times like these call for a spirit of creativity, gratefulness, heightened purpose and increased empathy. Leading with these principles in mind will see you through the hard times, and make your organization even stronger for the future.Ultimately, Vision 2020 is about strengthening your people and your business for whatever challenges may arise – and that resiliency and future-oriented perspective is needed now more than ever.

Our Spring 2020 LAB Grant partnership with the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank has been a deeply fulfilling project to be a part of in the midst of these uncertain times. Last month, the Management Incubator class came together as a team and poured their ideas, time and construction skills into improving the volunteer training room at the Food Bank headquarters. Volunteers play a key role in dispersing goods to thousands of families in need in the Baton Rouge area, and this class of emerging business leaders poured all of their talents into making sure they have a welcoming, organized space to work.The LAB Grant funding initiative allows us to develop emerging leaders while serving non-profits that improve the lives of Baton Rouge residents. As our second grant recipient, the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank is working closely with our Management Incubator and Leadership Coaching Series classes on a facility improvement and strategic planning project. In addition to free consulting from the talented professionals in our training courses, the Food Bank will be awarded $1000 in discretionary funds.

Businesses across the world are in the midst of an unprecedented and rapidly evolving situation due to the global spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Should offices close? How long will workers need to stay home in order to stop the spread? How can you effectively transition non-remote employees to telework?We wanted to provide some guidance for leaders who are not used to managing remote teams – but find themselves having to stretch at this time in order to protect their employees and the public. Remember, in times of uncertainty, it’s not important to have perfect systems in place… but as a leader you can set positive expectations and be an example of clear crisis management. The situation is rapidly changing and the systems will evolve – but there are simple steps you can take to make an uncertain situation manageable for your employees.

Is your company culture attracting top talent? Are you giving employees at every level the opportunity to contribute, succeed, and thrive? Are you creating the most good with your resources?Leading through culture isn’t about catchphrases, top-down initiatives, or clever messaging. It’s about prioritizing the kind of values that employees can really get behind and work to implement – especially for the upcoming generation of leaders.Organizations are filling up with Millennial and Gen Z employees. Members of the Millennial generation now range between the ages of 25-39, while the oldest members of Gen Z are just leaving college and will soon be looking for their first work opportunity. Companies that want to attract the best talent and excel in their markets will need to emphasize a culture that is committed to supporting this emerging workforce. That means cultivating an approach to leadership development that gives early-career professionals plenty of opportunities to grow, and implementing a people strategy that values the contribution of every single employee.

Successful entrepreneur (and former Major League athlete) Anthony Ranaudo knows something about perseverance, resilience and leadership.

Prepare your organization to take on 2020 by conducting an audit of your talent, operating environment, and growth opportunities for the coming year. In today’s fast-paced business climate, employees are more agile than ever. Companies must respond by assessing their people strategy and developing a plan to cultivate and retain their workforce for the future. This 5-step audit will set you up for success in 2020 – and beyond.

Longtime executive Robert Burgess enjoyed a distinguished career leading multiple healthcare and telecommunications firms throughout the Greater Baton Rouge region. We were fortunate to host Robert recently at the Success Labs office for a wide-ranging discussion about leadership with a group of emerging leaders and supervisors.Robert has recently retired, but he served as CEO of St. Elizabeth Hospital and interim head of Woman’s Hospital. Before joining St. Elizabeth, Robert served as president and COO of Eatel from 2005 to 2011. He held the same title with Gulf Coast Wireless from 1999 to 2005.Robert fielded questions from the participants in the Success Labs’ Essentials of First Line Leadership program and offered insights into his leadership style and experience. Here’s an overview of what he shared. 

The Salvation Army of Greater Baton Rouge’s Corps Community Center is a safe haven for at-risk youth in our community, offering after-school tutoring, recreational activities and mentoring throughout the year.Recently a group of Baton Rouge-area business leaders in our Management Incubator program implemented a series of facility enhancements at the center to help the organization’s vital mission of assisting students.The Success Labs Management Incubator is a development program for talented individual contributors who are emerging as leaders within their organizations. The Management Incubator offers rising leaders insight into their leadership styles and potential challenges, strengths and weaknesses.The four-week program features competency-based leadership assessments, experiential learning, individual coaching and development planning — capped off by a community-based project.For this round of the program, we partnered with the Salvation Army, with a specific focus on the impressive youth programs at their Corp Community Center, where many children of our community go after school to receive academic help, socialize with peers and get a healthy snack.

Success Labs has been in the business of developing leaders for almost thirty years. In that time, we’ve been privileged to host conversations with executives from diverse industries and backgrounds, learning from their various successes, challenges and directional shifts.Their stories and pathways are all different. Over the years, one truth has emerged: there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to leadership. However, there are a few key elements that longtime executives point to over and over again. Prioritize these keys to leadership in your own career – and watch your influence, effectiveness and impact grow.

A group of business leaders from our Leadership Coaching Series worked with the Salvation Army of Greater Baton Rouge on a detailed plan to help raise community awareness and funding to support the organization’s vital community-building work.The presentations capped our 5-week Leadership Coaching Series, which features competency-based leadership assessments, experiential learning and individual coaching — all culminating with a community-based project supporting a nonprofit organization.The projects are tied to our Success Labs Lead And Build “LAB” Grant, a new funding and community partnership awarded to local nonprofits serving the Baton Rouge area. The LAB Grant totals more than $1,500 for each partnership, which includes a $1,000 gift to be used at the nonprofit’s discretion, a hands-on project to enhance an existing space or function and $500 project seed money. 

Kimberly Tang saw firsthand that classrooms are powerful incubators for innovation, problem solving, and leadership development. Now, as Success Labs’ newest consultant and coach, she’s applying lessons from a career in education to her work with businesses across Louisiana and the Gulf South.