Skip to main content

Thriving Versus Surviving

Your world is largely dictated by how you view it. Creativity, vision, possibilities, and opportunities abound in every Agency. You owe it to yourself and those who depend on your leadership to inspire, encourage, mentor and defend a culture of opportunities.

You chose to thrive rather than simply survive by adopting proactive and strategic approaches to leadership. Thriving as a SAPOC involves embracing challenges as opportunities for growth, innovation, and impact. Instead of merely reacting to circumstances, a thriving SAPOC takes initiative to anticipate and address potential obstacles, leveraging your skills, expertise, and resources to drive positive change within the Agency. This proactive mindset enables you to lead with confidence and resilience, even in the face of uncertainty or adversity. Additionally, a thriving leader fosters a culture of collaboration, empowerment, and continuous improvement among team members, inspiring them to reach their full potential.

Key Questions
  1. Are my Agency leaders focused on fixing perceived problems rather than creating sustainable practices for long-term agency and mission success?
  2. Are communications from senior leaders intermittent or contradictory with Shared Service ethos? 
  3. Is your Agency suffering from traditional management systems, which create stability and reliability, but stifle any desire or ability to adapt and innovate?
  4. How can I leverage my skills, expertise, and resources to drive positive change and overcome obstacles within the agency?
  5. Does my Agency leadership support and encourage entry- and mid-level employees to contribute to business process improvement opportunities?
  6. How can I foster a culture of collaboration, empowerment, and continuous improvement among team members to maximize their potential and contribution to shared service initiatives?
Checklist

  • Establish support for clear, consistent, and transparent communication with senior leaders, regardless of whether there is good or bad news to share. See an example Executive Brief deck here.

  • Provide an abundance of leadership to set the Agency’s direction, inspire action from many people, and encourage new ideas.

  • Emphasize pursuing opportunities that encourage curiosity and collaboration, in addition to tackling real threats.

  • Proactively anticipate potential challenges and obstacles and develop strategies to address them.

  • Democratize leadership from many people across all levels, resulting in greater buy-in, more collaboration, and a culture of adaptability and agility.

  • Foster a culture of collaboration, empowerment, and continuous improvement among team members.

Back to top