In Leadership Through COVID-19 and Beyond the authors present a simple yet insightful framework, the Discovery Prism(c) to support all of us in the turbulent times we are in. This is a guide to reconnecting the positive human energy in organisations toward shared purpose and extraordinary possibility.
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused disruption on an unprecedented scale and calls for people in organisations to operate at a new level of consciousness in order to survive and re-emerge stronger. A different kind of leadership is urgently required that invites everyone to play a part in creating the kind of organisations where people and the planet thrive.
The Discovery Prism(c) framework serves as a guide to organisational alignment and renewal, by mapping out what is and is not connected. These broken connections cause confusion, disengagement and waste the precious human resource at the heart of any organisation. The exploration of the Discovery Prism(c) helps create shared meaning, a clear direction and engaged stakeholders.
The Discovery Prism(c) describes a set of six lenses, which, when aligned, create an energy greater than the sum of the parts. Some lenses are familiar and already at the core of all business practice and others are often given little consideration but are key to creating an integrated organisation: resilient, sustainable and better placed to navigate the uncertainties of the 21st century environment.
The three core lenses ask the questions: Why, How, What, Who and Where and When. They are:
1 Bigger Purpose & Core Values: Why are we here, and how are we together
2. Mission & Stakeholders: What do we do and who do we serve
3. Vision: Where are we going and when will we get there
Their intersections form three further overlap lenses:
4. Legacy: what we consciously create for future generations
5. Promises: that we make internally and externally (i.e. culture and brand)
6. Strategy: how we deliver the vision
At the centre where everything overlaps is the Prism itself. This is a metaphor for the concentrated, directed energy (the single white light) coming from the diverse colours of the various lenses as well as from wide collaboration across the organisation and externally from all stakeholders.
The book describes the rationale behind the framework: the challenges for organisations currently dealing with the impact of the global pandemic and how working with the Discovery Prism(c) framework helps reimagine a sustainable future. It describes who the book is for and introduces the concepts of being versus doing, organisational presence, human and systemic sustainability.
Stenbom, Anne: - "Anne Stenbom and Helen Battersby are co-creators of Leadership Through Covid-19 and Beyond. They are also co-founders of Global Business Leaders, a company specialising in leadership development across Europe and globally. They have much more in common too: - Both are highly experienced and valued executive coaches who work across all sectors - They have gained many years' experience of corporate life in multinational organisations before venturing out on their own - Their combined professional expertise draws on over 50 years of working for organisations across the globe as leaders and as coaches - They've lived in a number of different countries and speak several European languages - They share a love of the arts, travel and life-long learning - They are wives and proud mothers to grown up sons and daughters. Their common passion is to help develop thriving organisations that practice sustainability from a human as well as an environmental perspective. In all their work, whether as coaches to individuals, teams or when running leadership development programmes, they take a coach approach, encouraging active participation. The strengths Anne and Helen bring enable connection, professionalism and deep learning. They have co-created the Discovery Prism framework featured in the book to share its benefits more widely for current and future generations."
