# From Market Needs to Managed Uncertainty ## A systems view of capability development Every transformation begins with a tension between **what organisations need to achieve** and **how they need to grow** to achieve it. Our research used the _Jobs To Be Done_ (JTBD) framework to interpret those needs — not as role descriptions, but as **progress organisations are trying to make** and **anxieties they’re trying to resolve**. By analysing a cross-section of _Transformation Director_ roles, we uncovered twenty recurring “jobs” that capture this progress. Each job expresses three dimensions of value: - **Functional** — what must tangibly be accomplished - **Emotional (Personal)** — how the leader needs to feel to perform at their best - **Emotional (Social)** — how they wish to be perceived by others These insights revealed that transformation leadership isn’t just about managing projects — it’s about **navigating uncertainty** across three recurring domains: 1. 🧭 **Deciding** — making sense of complexity and setting direction 2. ⚙️ **Executing** — creating systems that deliver reliably under change 3. 🤝 **Relating** — shaping the human dynamics that make transformation possible ## **Building capability from the inside out** Within each domain, we identified a set of **Competences** — the repeatable abilities that allow leaders and teams to manage uncertainty effectively. For example: - _Deciding_ includes competences such as **[[Strategic Alignment & Roadmapping]]**, **[[Portfolio Governance & Investment Decisioning]]**, and **[[Risk Intelligence & Adaptive Planning]]**. - _Executing_ includes **[[Programme Delivery & Integration]]**, **[[Operational Excellence & Performance Management]]**, and **[[Change Implementation & Capability Build]]**. - _Relating_ includes **[[Stakeholder Engagement & Influence]]**, **[[Leadership & Team Dynamics]]**, and **[[Culture & Communication]]**. Each **Job To Be Done** is then mapped to one or more of these competences, and every competence is anchored in one or more domains. This layered structure allows us to trace any market need all the way through to the human capability required to meet it. ## **Integration and the flow between domains** The three domains don’t operate in isolation — they interact dynamically:_A systems view of capability development_ | **Overlap** | **Emergent Integration** | **Description** | | ------------------------- | ----------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 🧭 Deciding + ⚙ Executing | **Strategic Delivery** | Turning insight into impact — where strategy meets traction | | 🧭 Deciding + 🤝 Relating | **Aligned Leadership** | Making meaning together — where clarity meets connection | | ⚙ Executing + 🤝 Relating | **Collaborative Performance** | Delivering through trust and rhythm — where systems meet people | | 🧭 + ⚙ + 🤝 | **Uncertainty Managed** | Acting decisively, adaptively, and together — the hallmark of mature transformation | These intersections are **not new categories**, but **integration states** — the points where competence becomes coherence. ## **The hidden dynamics underneath** Beneath the visible domains run two continuous currents that shape every transformation: - **Learning** — how the organisation absorbs feedback, evolves practice, and metabolises uncertainty. - **Organising** — how it structures, aligns, and sustains collective action. These currents remind us that managing uncertainty is not a one-time event but an ongoing, energy-intensive process — often carried invisibly by the social system itself. ## **A coherent architecture** | **Layer** | **Purpose** | **Primary Artefact** | | -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | **Market Needs** | External demand signals identified through JTBD analysis | _Jobs To Be Done.pdf_ | | **Jobs To Be Done** | Specific outcomes organisations hire transformation leaders to deliver | _JTBD – Transformation Leader.pdf_ | | **Competences** | Capabilities that enable those outcomes within each domain | _Uncertainty Management – Competences.pdf_ | | **Domains of Uncertainty** | Core fields of mastery that shape transformation effectiveness | _Uncertainty Management Model.pdf_ | | **Integration States** | The overlaps that produce coherence and maturity | Visual Venn model in _Uncertainty Management Model.pdf_ | Together, these layers form a unified framework that connects **market-level demand** with **human-level capability** — a practical bridge between the language of strategy and the lived experience of transformation.