Wired For Disruption

The COVID-19 pandemic is changing nearly every aspect of our daily lives. As much as we yearn for a “normal,” disruption will be here to stay. We must evolve. And we can! Based on neuroscience-backed research, agility is already a hardwired trait in each of us. Wired for Disruption shares the five shifts in agility that will help us thrive, not just survive, in the future of work.

These are the five shifts in agility:

• Neuro-Emotional Agility: the ability to activate neural states that accelerate our adaptability. Our neurobiology sees disruptive change as a threat to survival. This evolutionary reaction slows down our adaptation by reducing cognition and increasing burnout.
• Learning Agility: the ability to rapidly learn, unlearn, and re-learn based on the situation in front of us. Our old mindsets and biases prevent us from seeing new reality clearly. This prevents us from being creative to find opportunity in change.
• Trust Agility: the ability to develop just-in-time trust with diverse fluid teams and energize creative contributions. Our threat states and fluid teams of the future make collaboration harder, just when it is most needed to create opportunities.
• Stakeholder Agility: the ability to influence multiple stakeholders with competing needs toward solutions that serve the broader ecosystem. While we recognize we’re more interdependent than ever, we are missing the skill sets to influence our wider ecosystem.
• Growth Agility: the ability to grow ourselves and others to accelerate a future-ready workforce. Upskilling and growth is urgently needed for millions to solve our collective challenges. This requires a step-change in our ability to grow ourselves and others.

Disruptions are opportunities to re-imagine, re-invent, and re-invigorate – to create something better. We have many collective problems to solve for a thriving planet that works better for all. Wired for Disruption helps each of us be inspired agents of change, use our voice, and activate the embedded agility already within us.

Henna Inam is the CEO of Transformational Leadership Inc., and a former C-level executive with Fortune 500 companies. She’s the author of Wired for Disruption, a book that helps leaders master the five shifts in agility to lead in the future of work. Transformational Leadership helps leaders going through disruptive change create cultures of agility, innovation, and inclusion. Henna is a trusted executive coach to C-suite leaders globally.

Henna led through disruption throughout her corporate career, including in roles such as: Global Head e-Innovation, Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer, and Region President. Henna’s 20 years of corporate experience includes working in Brand Management (starting at Procter & Gamble), Finance, Sales, and General Management. As Chief Marketing Officer, Henna ran marketing for a $2 billion global business and as Region President she managed a $600 million P&L. As General Manager in Mexico, Henna and her 600-member team tripled the rate of innovation and successfully turned around a business that was losing share and profits. She was recognized by Novartis for their top Performance Excellence award. Henna brings significant global experience, having lived or worked in seven countries across four continents. In addition to her corporate experience, Henna serves as a Board Director for Engro Corporation, where she chairs the Board People Committee.

Henna received her MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and completed Executive Education programs at the Harvard Business School. Her LinkedIn Learning courses have been viewed by over 300,000 leaders around the world.