Author: Traci Onkst

The pace of change has been a topic of conversation the last few years.  

We talk about digitalization and our need to constantly innovate to meet the expectations of our customers. At some point, we are those customers and must learn how to consume that flow of innovation. Add in the financial facing component and our need to respond to that ever-changing landscape and you can see why change is the topic of many conversations. But, did you for one minute ever expect a pandemic? A crisis of this magnitude wasn’t even part of our wildest consideration as we started to think about the changes facing us in 2020. In hindsight, the magnitude of the changes we thought were going to overwhelm us almost seem trivial in comparison to what we face now.

The way people react to all this will vary substantially. Some will be stoic and persevere as if little has changed, some will panic, and others will see it as an opportunity. Maybe I’m more of the latter. Change is here and we will probably be forever changed in so many ways going forward. The families experiencing loss of a loved one will surely never experience their old normal again. For that I am sad to my soul. 

As we respect the threat this virus presents to our health and lives, we do have some choice in our overall response. It’s been said that in a time of crisis you can identify the true leaders. We need and appreciate people that provide vision, organize tasks and help us move forward. But leadership is so much more, and I have forever maintained that BAs are leaders by definition.

At the heart, leadership is service. As BAs, our service is to help solve problems by applying creative thinking and analysis and present those insights through visualization so others can gain clarity and collaborate around the issue. As the questions about the future mount, we need that service now more than ever. As a BA we should be reflecting on the future. Analyze. Be creative. Think outside the box. Where are the new needs, what are the new gaps and what will we do to fill them? Every time in history, major threats and change left new opportunities to provide service.  Where are our new opportunities to serve? What outcomes can we influence for the better? Where can we add value to people and their new way of working? How does the BA role evolve in response to all this? While our BA purpose has not changed, the way we execute the role may. How will you serve and demonstrate your BA leadership as we march forward into our new tomorrow?