VUCA Leadership

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These are challenging times for anyone in leadership. Fortunately, while there may not be an app for that, there is a roadmap. 

It’s called VUCA.

Developed by Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus, and put into play by the U.S. Army War College, VUCA is an acronym for: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. 

First, let’s understand the four key terms:

  1. Volatility has to do with the nature and dynamics of change, and the speed with which things change.

  2. Uncertainty has to do with the lack of predictability, the increasing prospects of surprise, and the sense of awareness and understanding of issues and events (or lack thereof).

  3. Complexity has to do with the multiplex of forces, the confounding of issues and general confusion.

  4. Ambiguity has to do with the haziness of reality, the potential for misreads and the mixed meanings of conditions.

But it is important to understand that these four VUCA situations call for four VUCA responses: Vision, Understanding, Clarity and Agility.

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Now, let’s understand the four responses:

  1. When faced with volatility, leaders must respond by casting clear vision and to help people understand the “why.”

  2. In response to uncertainty, leaders should bring understanding of the consequences of issues and actions.

  3. When faced with complexity, leaders must bring clarity, letting people know what can and should be done.

  4. In response to ambiguity, leaders must demonstrate agility, keeping a “pivot foot” and preparing for alternative realities and challenges.

So what does this practically mean? Here are some things any organization can do now as suggested in a Forbes article:

  • Move from hierarchy to self-organization. Push decisions down to the edge of the organization where information is the freshest and most salient: the cash register, the production line, the call center and sales reps.

  • Move from protecting information to democratization of information. To empower employees to make decisions, make communication frictionless. Conduct weekly all-hands meetings. Sure, some might have to stay up late or get up early for global companies, but the gain of getting the information straight from the horse’s mouth is well worth it.

  • Speed up interactions. Accelerate the speed of interaction as much as possible. In the VUCA age, speed matters more than perfection. Set the expectation for everyone to answer emails within a couple of hours for quick ones and by the end of the day for long ones.

  • Use simple rules to make quick decisions, rather than perfect analyses.

Why does this matter?

For one simple, but important, reason.

From this day forward,

… you will be leading in a VUCA world.

James Emery White

Sources

“VUCA Acronym,” Wikipedia, read online.

Sunnie Giles, “How VUCA Is Reshaping the Business Environment, and What It Means for Innovation,” Forbes, May 9, 2018, read online.

James Emery White