Page 6 - Logistics News - November December 2022

T H OU GHT L E A D E R SHIP

Supply chain leadership –

start, stop or continue?

By Arno Meyer, arno.meyer1@gmail.com and
Aveshin Reddy, aveshinreddy@gmail.com

After over two-and-a-half years of unprecedented disruption and volatility, supply chains were
stretched close to breaking point. Traditional and historic processes proved insufficient, and cracks
in the critical armour of supply chain resilience are showing. More importantly, one of the biggest
lessons was that the old top-down leadership style is no longer as effective as it once was.

s a result, new leadership styles are emerging decision-making, offering autonomy and bottom-up
that emphasise the importance of teamwork innovation and collaboration. As businesses begin
Aand open communication. These styles are to recognise the importance of engagement, we can
often more successful than traditional methods expect to see more effort to foster these skills in the
as they allow for a greater exchange of ideas and workplace.
a better understanding of each team member’s
strengths and weaknesses. In addition, collaborative Understanding → focus on business culture and
leadership styles tend to create a more positive work soft skills
environment, leading to increased productivity and In the changing world of work, high-performing
efficiency. businesses must employ top personnel and invest
in hard and soft skills to provide outstanding
Similarly, the traditional understanding and performance. You can be the most knowledgeable
managerial acronym VUCA – volatile, uncertain, person at the table, but have the least emotional
chaotic and ambiguous – is also evolving. More intelligence, which can only get you so far in today’s
recently, a positive acronym has emerged to society. Assuming the patterns are accurate, future
represent a positive side of VUCA or VUCA 2.0 – success will be achieved through cooperation and
vision, understanding, clarity and agility. VUCA co-creation by bringing together diverse teams.
will continue to define the coming years, but it will The capacity to connect on a human level and
be the responsibility and opportunity of leaders to build meaningful relationships will be paramount,
shift the negative VUCA to a positive VUCA 2.0. Our regardless of your position within a business.
predictions and trends of supply chain leadership, Employing self-aware, emotionally intelligent team
combined with the latest research and insights, are players will be a recurring topic as firms bring new
discussed below. talent and promote existing talent inside their
companies.
Vision → less hierarchy, more engagement Clarity → Hybrid and remote work model maturity
Kenneth Blanchard, a leadership and business
L O GI S T I CS NEWS expert, lamented: “The key to successful leadership For some businesses, the post-pandemic ‘normal’

today is influence, not authority”. We expect
and the transition to remote and establishing hybrid
that in 2023 the role of supply chain leaders will
work modes are still in development. In 2023, this
continue to evolve and be less about ‘calling the
will remain a significant priority for companies to
shots’ and more about fostering inclusiveness in
formalise. Some businesses are still adjusting to

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