The Vulnerable in Volatility

Inspired to find the spark in our leadership and within ourselves, the next four articles are dedicated to thoughts around Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity (#VUCA).

Just for context, the notion of VUCA was introduced by the U.S. Army War College to describe the more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, multilateral world which resulted from the end of the Cold War (Kinsinger & Walch, 2012).

Going beyond environment awareness to deeper insight, VUCA is used by business and individuals to explore the realities of their capability and potential in a dynamic world. Over the next four articles, I am exploring each facet of VUCA from a personal and professional perspective.

The 'V' perspective

The first phrase that comes to mind is unpredictable explosion. It is hard to pin down a pattern of when and where a change will occur. In addition, being able to assess, understand and adapt to the nature and intensity of the change is a long-term art in experiencing both Nature and human chaos.

From a young age I've been familiar with the term through a number of experiences where the VUCA environment stands out in my family as a natural state of being. In the next few personal examples, I'd like you to also consider what it means to be vulnerable from all angles - the organisation and the role you hold within it, your colleagues and team, your customers and suppliers, your friends and family and most of all, within yourself. This last is most crucial, for it is in vulnerability we discover much about ourselves, and our capability to respond and adapt, in a volatile situation.

V = Volcanic

To me, volatility often represents a volcanic situation. For many years, before I was even a glint in his eye, my dad lived only a few kilometres from an active volcano. He and some buddies thought it a good idea to ride their motorbikes around the volcano, and go for what he called 'a little jaunt' along the volcano floor only to have some of it crumble away and shoot skin burning steam up his leg. Ouch! Ok, I can almost feel your rolling eyes and hear the 'tut tut' sound. You might think it one of those stupid young man macho things but to them it was exciting, a way to show their courage and ability to brave something they can't control but yet survive.

During a 'show and tell' at school, I proudly passed around my dad's photos of he and his mates inside the volcano - all met with oohs and aahs. Have you ever noticed the same response from certain executives, investors or employees when you propose a risky course of action or make a risky decision?

Then I did something similar - with greater safety procedures and equipment for sure, but it's still mother nature! I went to New Zealand's most continuous active volcano for the last 150,000 years - Whakaari (a.k.a White Island). I've always been fascinated by geology and our earth's ability to remake itself time and again gradually or in one dramatic moment. The way it shifts from one state to another with no apology for what it is, without expectation, with no concern but for the necessity within its nature to be what it is!

Understanding the make up of our environment and our purpose within it, is necessary in order to be sensitive to its signals and manoeuvre with its activity.

V = Vigilent

When I enlisted in the Royal Australian Army it was during a time when females were new to the male only soldier recruit training program. I'm very proud of our all female platoon achieving a number of firsts in specific activities. Females were no longer WRAACs but Soldiers in our own right doing what a soldier does. Over my time of service, women went from being non-combatants to being field force but not yet in direct combatant roles. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has only started recruitment directly into frontline combat roles in the last 3 years. A long way from my first outing as a soldier and yet time and again, it has been shown the capability to lead and be productive in volatile environments is not the purview of one gender.

In this environment, the technology changed markedly alongside the weaponry in which we trained and used. Legacy systems were used in conjunction with new systems and with scarce resources, the need to learn new skills fast whilst still retaining expertise in the old was crucial. A similar situation exists today in many arenas, including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) where less than one-third of women are in these role types or getting equal pay for the same as their male counterparts.

If we are to expand our capability to evolve in a volatile environment, then we must pay attention to our resource potential, foster and take in the breadth and depth available to us.

V = Visceral

At the time my dad passed away, I was living far away. Being the family member coordinating the arrangements, administering particular affairs and dealing with the aftermath, I needed a few more days than the allocated 'grieving leave'. That sounds rather clinical, I know, but it wasn't the first time I'd similar situations and I always saw it as a skill any uniformed member of our world learns as a matter of mind-survival. Deal with it and worry about the emotion later - so was the way of the time.

What I wasn't prepared for was the expectation that in a manager role, everything I felt is meant to be hidden. Upper echelon set an unsupportive behaviour example to the rest of staff in public open office chats saying to me,"'it's over now, get over it, get on with it". It had the unfortunate and cumulative effect of my becoming embattled with my team as they then chose to do the same in order to 'stay in good' with the bosses. Well, after all, you leave your personal troubles at home and specially as a department manager, you are the example of not allowing emotions to 'interfere' with ones day at work right? Then came the volcanic implosion! I was found on the bathroom floor at work babbling to myself that I was in control. A breakdown and a continuing six months of agony in an unsupportive environment made every-day tasks feel monumental. This is not the psychological safe space one needs to work effectively.

It took me quite some time to realise that clamming up about what had happened and any subsequent emotional or mental situations, limited my ability to engage deeply in my role and contribute more fully to the organisation. By hiding my emotions and thereby guarding my vulnerability, I held much of myself back. I gaslighted myself and inadvertently, when I shut down, I also shut down my staff.

As emotional creatures, we must acknowledge the role our feelings play in influencing thinking and decision making. Only then can we begin working to understand them. Where emotion is ignored, denied and overridden you disregard the full capacity of the whole person and the exponential success of a team. 

Emotions matter because they are part of our perceptual experience and decision making. The more intelligent you are with emotions, the more adaptive and innovative you become.

Ready to embrace being vulnerable?

These are just a few questions to jumpstart your thinking:

1. Do you allow yourself to be who you are in the face of danger? Like the volcano, it's nature does not make any apology for its being. Acknowledge where you are in your current state and remember, if the earth can remake itself time and again, so can you.
2. Being vulnerable takes courage. Do you show yours in the face of risk and give your executives, investors and employees the confidence to say yes to your proposed course of action?
3. How are you increasing the capability of all employees to adapt to working in a volatile environment? Being vigilant is about paying attention. Look deeply at the the potential within your people and foster their resilience.
4. Leading requires your humanity - how do you connect with the humans around you? Ensure you are engaging your 'whole self' and improving your emotional intelligence skills.
5. Do you provide a psychological safe space for your people and developing a program to help them be more adaptive and innovative?

Remember, there is no defined numeric value to Volatility. We may speak about the rate of change but this cannot be understood without also considering the intensity of the change. These factors are dependent on a comparative perspective.

Think of three volatile times in your life and explore the vulnerability you have experienced and how you use your vulnerability to help you lead.

Yes, I still like to walk on volcanos, and in embracing my vulnerability, I've discovered more ways to be resilient and how this helps me adapt quickly in a volatile environment.

Build resilience within yourself and your team. Be enabled to ride volatility with courage and excitement.

I'd love it if you'd share your volatility experiences and how this article made you feel.

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Simone Jo Moore is affectionately known as the Human API and a powerhouse innovative mixologist. As a Top 25 Thought Leader, Simone combines her background in HR, Organisational Change and complementary health with her technology profession for a deep leadership experience. Building resilience in a VUCA world through ensuring a focus on connecting the human-to-human, emotional intelligence and artificial intelligence.

Passionate about probing the hearts and minds of what makes business and IT tick and jumpstart people’s thinking to evolve behaviour and actions at any level, Simone works with four key principles that are active values - People connected, knowledge shared, possibilities discovered and potential realised.

Like to have Simone work with your organisation? A speaker at your next event? Even a coaching session or workshop/training then come explore with Simone here.

Time to become a mixologist and understanding that to be creative and innovate takes more than imagination, it takes synergy between professions and practices.