Visionary Leaders Future Proof their Organisations

Reinventing Sport Leadership - Part 10 of 16

Photo credit - Unsplash

“The future depends on what we do in the present”

[Mahatma Gandhi]

When I turned fifty-five, I came across a book by Robert D. Smith entitled “20 000 Days and Counting.” Since then, I count my years by days. This has helped not to say that I will do the following things in the forthcoming years. I have learned to decide to do it now or set a specific date knowing that I might not be there when that future time comes. I have also learned not to leave for the moment but to leave in such a manner that whatever I do every day has significance and will ensure that my future (if ever there will be one for this we are never sure) and other people I work within sport, will be a bright one. I ensure that my actions now determine what will, and here I hope a great future. This is the way I “future proof” my future and because I hold a senior position where I am employed, my organisation as well. In other words, I try to live my life with a purpose and maximum intensity as if it is the last day of my life, and when I wake up every morning, get the satisfaction that the previous day was not a waste but a step towards a better tomorrow, and God willing, a great future.

From a business point of view, the following are some factors that organisations must consider future proof themselves. “Future-proofing” your organisation is about the challenges such as an aging workforce and customers, debt levels, digital transformation, economic cycles, globalisation, inbound/digital marketing, increase the pace of change, outsourcing, migration, political and cultural issues, rapid product and market development, refinancing, restructuring, social selling, sustainable production, technology, trade wars, and many more (Future-Proofing Careers & Organisations, 2020). I admit that I do not know or understand many of the issues listed above. Nevertheless, you and I are living the experience of one such disaster in the form of COVID-19. If there is anything I have learned and continue to learn is how unprepared I was for COVID-19 and the resultant shut-down of everything that I was used to doing on a daily basis for months on end. Even now with Lockdown Level 2, there are still a lot of things that have not returned to normal in many industries.

My industry, sport, has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. My colleagues are sitting/working from home because one fundamental aspect of sport will not happen unless it is under strict compliance conditions such as having teams go into isolation for months to be able to compete with every player, coach, and other support staff negative of COVID-19. Sport by its nature need people participating actively under the leadership of coaches. This has not happened for most sport. Unfortunately, entering a “bubble” to complete leagues is not sustainable on a long-term basis. The financial implications would be too much to fathom. The challenge going forward is how will sport organisations be sustainable under conditions such as created by COVID-19 and other disasters that may happen. Think of wildfires, earthquakes, tsunami, and so on. How quickly will sport organisations recover after being hit by pandemics such as COVID-19 and other disasters? This is where future-proofing sport organisations come in. In my job, I am driving a process to plan for 2021 and the future such that the organisation will be future proofed by being lean in terms of personnel, and prudent concerning building reserves.

We are also facing the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). We are already within it and COVID-19 has taught us, in a short time, to run our organisations remotely. We talk to each other and hold meetings, seminars/webinars, or virtual conferences from our homes with a high level of success. Who would have thought that we would be doing business in this manner when we started 2020? Those, like me who used not to take social media seriously have now learned new skills that they use to do their work and cope with our work and other activities. Thinking 4IR and the speed at which the world is changing is the only way to go if our sport organisations (and other spheres of our lives) are to be future-proofed. I have learned to rely on younger people who are adept at social media to convey messages to my colleagues and to keep fit using Zoom. I now trust the advice of these young people who have mastered certain skills about using the internet that I might never master. Trusting younger colleagues who know something better than I do is future-proofing our organisation because these young men and women are learning to take responsibility as well as leadership activities.

Winston Churchill said that we must:

“Have no fear of the future. We must go forward into its mysteries, tear away the veils which hid it from our eyes and onwards with confidence and courage.”

I believe that taking charge of the now and having as much control over those things we can control while knowing that we may not see tomorrow, but doing what we need to do today and giving it our best shot, is the only way our future (if we get there) and the future of all others will be rich and satisfactory. Plato said that:

“If we are to have any hope for the future, those who have lanterns must pass them on to others.”

This statement emphasises the point I made in one of the earlier articles about paying it forward and giving back. As leaders, we cannot be afraid of investing in other people so that when we are not there anymore, a situation that can happen overnight, people and their organisations will continue to be successful and sustainable. No one loses by investing energy and effort today so that there is a better future for all even if one is not there anymore. Last week I mentioned the things that I learned from my father who is no longer alive. I believe he future-proofed me in our talks, through our discussions on diverse subjects, mentoring, coaching, and making resources available for my development. I knew him for 53 years, and through all of them, his advice and countenance ensured that my life got “future-proofed.” Now that he is gone, I am able to do anything that I want to do because he invested in me. My mom continues to invest in my, 62 years after she brought me into this world.

Whereas adapting to 4IR and the things I listed above, most of them related to technology and globalisation, I am of the opinion at the personal level between people leading organisations and their followers, future-proofing an organisation involves personal interaction, one’s love for others, and so forth. I am convinced that when Maya Angelou said that:

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,”

she hit the nail on the head. The more technical stuff such as strategic planning, succession planning, organisational effectiveness, good governance, directing, and controlling, though very important for the success and sustainability of an organisation; can only work when leaders make others feel good about working with the leader and being valued. In order to future proof, your organisation take your people seriously and invest in them accordingly.

“Awaken curiosity, cultivate wisdom, discover the abundant future”

[John Sanei – Foresight]