Lifelong learning at Oxford University: Leading Through Uncertainty and Disruption
This blog was first published on the Said Business School, Oxford University website relating to the Oxford Leading Through Uncertainty and Disruption Programme.
Some say that resilience is an overused word, particularly by the media. Yet today, organisations are facing more uncertainty (Ukraine), complexity (climate change emergency) and ambiguity (AI) than ever before. Once considered a part of business continuity, resilience is shifting to the top table and becoming a strategic imperative. Surprisingly there are very few universities focusing on this new paradigm. My Google search listed courses centred on risk management and business continuity. The Oxford Leading Through Uncertainty and Disruption Programme appealed to me in its forward-thinking and succinct 6S framework.
Connecting the dots
My motivation for attending the programme was to test the hypothesis for my consultancy. At the end of 2020, I pivoted from a 25-year corporate career to self-employment as a change maker, consultant and coach. Inspired by the UN’s decade of action, I wanted to focus my energy on making a difference. How could I leverage my skills and experience to help solve current and future problems?
Steve Jobs tells a story about connecting the dots. ‘You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.’ Looking backwards, I realised that my dots connected on change: business and organisation models, products and services, customer focus, commerciality, systems, and sustainability. The dots also connected on critical infrastructure. The outcome of the change was that the organisation, and its people, survived in competitive markets and grew. With hindsight, change made them more resilient, able to survive disruptions and thrive. However, the R-word was never used. The programme allowed me to discover how my previous experience was relevant to future scenarios through learning about resilience at a leading academic institution.
Six S framework
Dr Eleanor Murray’s 6S structure provides the framework for the programme; an ‘S’ per week. The six are self, strategy, structures, social elements, supply chains and systems. A seventh could be sustainability. This deceptively simple framework is helpful when explaining the components of resilience to my clients, evaluating challenges and creating plans. Resilience is a mammoth topic, and I find the framework useful in making sense of other articles and research. The programme explores each S in-depth, culminating in an assignment that tested applicability and relevance for our organisation and consolidated into an organisation resilience plan. We were equipped to act as resilience change agents through new vocabulary, concepts, and approaches. The assignments tested my comprehension and generated new insights, leading to new solutions.
Learning journey
The online programme teaches through course notes, videos, case studies, recommendations for further reading and weekly assignments. Although we worked independently, a community was built through online discussion forums and zoom calls. My cohort came from various backgrounds: geographically, sectors and roles. The online forums added richness and depth to my learning journey through a greater understanding of uncertainty and disruption scenarios and collaboration on problems, ideas, and solutions. The programme is hosted on the Get Smarter platform, a best-in-class online learning platform. Each module went live on Wednesday morning, and we had until Tuesday evening to submit our assignment. The average workload was 7-10 hours per week. Depending upon work commitments, I read the material and online forums during the week and did my assignment on weekends.
Resilience is a way of thinking
Since completing the programme, I have reflected on how much of the uncertainty and disruption we face as a society, organisation or individual would benefit from a resilience mindset and approach. Arguably resilience is everyone’s responsibility regardless of role and function, both executive and non-executive. It’s a way of thinking rather than a discipline: an over-used word but an under-used practice.
