Managing Change in a VUCA world
Martin Goodwill
Think you know your people? I've never met them - but I'll tell you things you don't know (and they might not want you to know).
The world is facing an uncertain future. In the last 9 years, we’ve seen huge change from events/situations such as:
All of these have had an impact on our lives and our businesses. How well we responded to the challenges they created for us will have determined the success of our organisations.
And there will be other events waiting in the wings that, as yet, we know nothing about. The big questions for organisations is which ones will affect you, to what degree and will more than one happening at the same time cause an entirely different set of issues?
Despite the pontifications of many so-called Thought Leaders, Gurus and Experts, the truthful answer is?NO ONE KNOWS?which means you need leaders in your organisation capable of anticipating/responding to/reacting to change when it happens and responding again (and again) when it changes again (and again).
?But do you already have the people around you, capable of dealing with this ongoing, rapidly accelerating, tsunami of change?
Thinking back to the beginning of these events, who among your managers disappointed you with their response? Who impressed you? Were any of these a surprise to you (either positive or negative)? Those who responded well are, potentially, your VUCA Leaders. If you manage to retain them (and we strongly suggest you try), they are the people who will guide you through future change events as well.
But what about your future recruits? Every day, organisations recruit, at all levels, the people they expect to get them through disruption and change when it hits, without ever knowing if they’re capable of doing it.
Undoubtedly, many organisations will have assessed their potential employees to ensure they can do the job they are being recruited for, immediately. But how many have even considered evaluating candidates with a view to future-proofing their business and recruiting VUCA Leaders?
What is VUCA?
VUCA is a US Military acronym, now widely used in the business arena, to describe the issues that change creates for organisations. It helps to define what they need to overcome to be successful in times of immense change. It stands for?Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity?– the 4-pronged attack we see whenever change hits us.
Volatility
The tendency of situations and events to change rapidly and unpredictably, especially for the worse. The more volatile the world is, the more, and faster, things change.
Uncertainty
The lack of predictability, the feeling of not being sure what will happen in the future. The more uncertain the world is, the harder it is to predict.
Complexity
The state of having many different parts, connected or related to each other in a complicated way. The more complex the world is, the harder it is to analyse.
Ambiguity
All of these have had an impact on our lives and our businesses. How well we responded to the challenges they created for us will have determined the success of our organisations.
And there will be other events waiting in the wings that, as yet, we know nothing about. The big questions for organisations is which ones will affect you, to what degree and will more than one happening at the same time cause an entirely different set of issues?
Despite the pontifications of many so-called Thought Leaders, Gurus and Experts, the truthful answer is?NO ONE KNOWS?which means you need leaders in your organisation capable of anticipating/responding to/reacting to change when it happens and responding again (and again) when it changes again (and again).
?But do you already have the people around you, capable of dealing with this ongoing, rapidly accelerating, tsunami of change?
Thinking back to the beginning of these events, who among your managers disappointed you with their response? Who impressed you? Were any of these a surprise to you (either positive or negative)? Those who responded well are, potentially, your VUCA Leaders. If you manage to retain them (and we strongly suggest you try), they are the people who will guide you through future change events as well.
But what about your future recruits? Every day, organisations recruit, at all levels, the people they expect to get them through disruption and change when it hits, without ever knowing if they’re capable of doing it.
Undoubtedly, many organisations will have assessed their potential employees to ensure they can do the job they are being recruited for, immediately. But how many have even considered evaluating candidates with a view to future-proofing their business and recruiting VUCA Leaders?
What is VUCA?
VUCA is a US Military acronym, now widely used in the business arena, to describe the issues that change creates for organisations. It helps to define what they need to overcome to be successful in times of immense change. It stands for?Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity?– the 4-pronged attack we see whenever change hits us.
Volatility
The tendency of situations and events to change rapidly and unpredictably, especially for the worse. The more volatile the world is, the more, and faster, things change.
Uncertainty
The lack of predictability, the feeling of not being sure what will happen in the future. The more uncertain the world is, the harder it is to predict.
Complexity
The state of having many different parts, connected or related to each other in a complicated way. The more complex the world is, the harder it is to analyse.
Ambiguity
The possibility of interpreting an event or situation in multiple, distinct, ways. The more ambiguous the world is, the harder it is to interpret.
Now, more than ever, leaders need the courage to step up to these challenges and make audacious decisions that embody risk but, particularly for data-driven leaders, this often goes against their natural instincts.
How do I know who is a natural VUCA Leader and what can I do about people who aren’t?
We'd love to tell you more about how we help organisations identify their current and future VUCA Leaders. You can find out more about it here.