Why adaptability has replaced certainty in modern leadership - insights from Paul McGee
Paul McGee began his working life as a probation officer in West Yorkshire — a background that grounded him in real-world human behaviour and the complexities of social change.
Over the years he has become one of Europe’s most respected motivational speakers, known globally as “The SUMO Guy.”
With 13 books published, thousands of speeches delivered in more than 40 countries and a reputation for blending practical psychology with humour and resilience training, McGee brings a unique authority to topics of change, leadership and wellbeing.
In this exclusive interview with the Inspirational Leadership Speakers Agency, Paul McGee discusses how individuals and organisations can navigate uncertainty, build resilience and thrive in an ever-changing world.
In an era defined by disruption and rapid change, how should resilience now be understood in a business context?
Paul McGee: “What does resilience mean? Well, let’s just think about this. Um, Blockbuster weren’t resilient. Blackberry weren’t resilient. Nokia weren’t resilient. So, in a sense, you could say, what does resilience mean? It means survival. It means the ability to be agile, to adapt in order that we can thrive through change.
“I mean, although it’s attributed to him, I’m not 100% sure if it was said by Charles Darwin, but some people say that Darwin said the following. The future does not belong to the strongest or the most intelligent. The future belongs to those who are best able to adapt to change.
“In a nutshell, if you can’t adapt to change, you won’t be resilient. You kind of, you’re no longer in the game.”
What practical role do leaders play in helping teams remain motivated and effective during periods of uncertainty?
Paul McGee: “I think first of all just step back and understand, look, we’re not magically born with a set of skills to go, “Oh great, we’re moving into the unknown and the uncertain, that sounds like a plan,” so as much clarity as is possible is really important.
“But also, and this sounds a bit pink and fluffy, but it’s massively important, staff need to feel they’re cared for and valued because actually although you want to provide clarity, sometimes within the context of uncertainty, you can’t provide a lot.
“So things like making sure you are doing all you can to communicate as much as you can to your team, but also make them feel valued, cared for. I do a lot of work in organisations where they go, “Do you know what Paul, morale could take a bit of a hit here? There’s a lot of uncertainty. We will be making some redundancies. That’s a reality, but we still need to exist as a business and give great service.”
“That’s very often when an organisation brings me in to kind of say, okay, well how can we equip the people, whatever their futures are, with the right mindset to help them navigate through these uncertain times.”
When someone is confronted with an uncertain future, what is the most constructive first step they can take?
Paul McGee: “I think it’s to step back and press pause and just understand this uncertainty is inevitable. I have a phrase, reality rules. But uncertainty can make us feel uncomfortable and you need to kind of go, that’s okay, that’s normal.
“So what I’m feeling is not me being negative or maybe I’ve got a mental health issue. It’s like welcome to being human. But it’s also about stepping back and thinking, okay, there is some uncertainty in life and maybe regarding your future, but what are some of the certainties? What can I influence or have some control over?
“Many years ago, um, I got involved in working for an organisation that was part of supporting British Coal when they were closing loads of coal mines well before you were born, Megan. Okay, but anyway, just trust me.
“Now, what was interesting about that is it was an uncertain future. They didn’t know when the pit would close. But there were some people who kind of embraced the fact that things aren’t going to look good and I’m going to get and seek support now. You know, help with interview techniques, CV writing, looking at retraining.
“But there were other people faced with uncertainty who just kept their head in the sand hoping it would all blow over and it didn’t. So acknowledge that the uncertainty can make you feel uncomfortable. That’s natural and that’s normal. But also then decide, okay, what can I influence? What’s in my control here that I can focus on?
“Because every day there are some certainties. We need to focus on those rather than things that are not in our control.”
When audiences leave one of your talks, what lasting impact do you most want to leave with them?
Paul McGee: “I like to just call them conversations in some ways, not just a speech. I don’t like to feel I’m delivering a speech. I’m not a great Shakespearean orator.
“So, one is I want them to have that kind of sense they’ve had some connection. Um, but I often talk about I want to give people IIP. And the first I stands for I want to give you some insights. We can access as much information as we like now. There’s never been a time in human history when we could, you know, we’ve got so much availability to information, but we need insight.
“So information would be tomato is a fruit, and insight is you don’t put the tomato in a fruit salad.
“And in life I want to give people some insights, give them time to think. Often people will say, that was a very thought-provoking talk. So I want to give them some insights.
“The second I is actually I want to give you some inspiration. The word inspire means to breathe life into and I think there’s some people in life who are feeling that the life has been sucked out of them. I want people to feel inspired.
“So I want to give you some insights. I want to give you some inspiration. And the P in IIP, I want to give you some practical tools.
“So one of the things that very often I talk about is not just from a mindset point of view. It’s not just let’s be positive, but I often talk about these seven questions to help you sumo. And they are questions that won’t be relevant in every situation, but they are a set of questions, a tool that people can have.
“Like one of the questions is, faced with an issue or challenge, where is this issue on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 equals death or the end of the world? Or how important will this be in 6 months’ time? How will I feel about this in 6 months? Or how can I influence, improve the situation?
“People don’t just want to go away from my session with some insights, that was interesting. It’s nice to be inspired, but the P is really important. Give them some practical tools that they can use actually not just in their work, but in their personal life as well.”
This exclusive interview with Paul McGee was conducted by Tabish Ali of The Motivational Speakers Agency.