leadership style that is dynamic, responsive, and adept at leveraging the insights and opportunities afforded by the digital age.” Harfoush calls this disruption-
busting mindset shift – FOPA. Future-oriented, but present-acting. “We’re so obsessed about talking
about the future. What’s going to happen to jobs, the influence of AI and so on. The reality is the decisions that you make, every single day, from the types of tools you use, to the people you hire, or the policies you put in place – are all directly related to what the future is going to look like,” she said. “Being future-oriented means
having a really clear goal about what type of company you want to have. The teams you want to grow, and the types of behaviours you want to encourage. While understanding that to get there, you have to be very clear and intentional about every decision you make on a day-to-day basis.”
FOCUS, CREATE, INNOVATE To develop a FOPA mindset, Harfoush emphasised the need for focus. “Cultivating focus sounds easy but it’s the most critical skill to build in today’s technological context.” Harfoush discussed the harms
of distraction in the workplace and the values we normalise – expecting people to always be available and immediately responsive. These are often reinforced at work by various tools like Microsoft Teams and Slack, all in the name of productivity. However these values we respect
and uphold as organisations and people create a hyper-prioritised and fragmented work environment. “When you use Microsoft Teams,
that green circle says ‘available’. It doesn’t say strategising or collaborating. We get notifications from every single platform because it’s considered rude to not respond right away. What this has created is a norm where we are constantly interrupted.” According to Harfoush, the
average employee gets interrupted every six minutes and it takes them 25 minutes to get back on task after that interruption. “We’re tapping, swiping and
22
Rahaf Harfoush speaking at the recent UKG Connect event.
clicking about 2,600 times a day.” Interruptions and over-
stimulation is problematic on many levels but in the workplace it can be especially damaging. “Creativity is the basic skill-
set you need for innovative and strategic thinking and creativity requires your brain to be de- stimulated. It needs your brain to have uninterrupted thinking time. It may even require you to be bored.” Creativity is not just reserved for those in the creative sector, either. “If you are strategising, collaborating,
communicating,
managing, leading, training or doing any of these sorts of activities, from a neuroscience perspective – you are a creative professional. Because those are the skills we need to foster innovation. If you want to unleash your creative performance, your best ideas and strategies, you have to give your brain room to do so.” The workplace in some ways is
stuck in a paradox. “We have all of these tools that are supposed to help us collaborate and communicate better but we’re accidentally using
them in a way that prioritises urgency and addiction.” This creates team cultures that
are rewarded for these behaviours, instead of deep, thoughtful time on the complexities that organisations have to manage on a daily basis, she argued. “Just in the UK, distractions
cost the economy roughly £142 billion annually. This translates in managers losing around 683 hours a year to distractions.” As businesses become more
reliant on tech, she urged companies to promote deep thinking and allow their people to process ideas, and the data and insights provided by these tools, in order to extend their knowledge base.
BUILDING EXPERTISE WITH AI Harfoush shared how AI is positively transforming businesses. From predictive AI software aiding manufacturing and maintenance to enhanced scheduling and workforce management that provide better flexibility for
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