Leading In VUCA World

We are living in a fast-paced, increasingly unstable and rapidly evolving world. In this dynamic business environment, volatility, cut-throat competition and stress are bound to happen. Winning by hook or crook has become a new normal. Due to increasing technical advancement, the world is simultaneously facing deteriorating environmental conditions, political disorder, destitution, and imbalance in the distribution of wealth. The present industrial revolution in the field of technology combined with material and biological systems diminished the lines between digital and material. The current business world and the world by and large are Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous, which, in short, is called the VUCA world. 

The acronym VUCA was coined by US Army War College in 1987 to portray the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of the world after the cold war. The world is constantly changing, where even small changes are becoming unpredictable. Circumstances unfurl in completely unexpected ways. The speed of change, fluctuations are hard to oversee. The more volatile the world is, the faster things change. 

Due to rapid changes in the world, it is difficult to anticipate the future. Most of the time, people wonder what’s going on! Like our environment, which is profoundly unpredictable, the world gets hard to predict because of vulnerability. 

We are living in a complex environment where we need to take the number of factors, their variety and relationships into account. The factors are interconnected, and when there are more factors, it turns out to be intricate to fathom due to the complex environment. It is difficult to analyze and come to an intelligible conclusion when the world turns out to be more complex. 

Coming to a conclusion and taking important decision becomes troublesome when the information is obscure. Once in a while, information is too contradicting or inaccurate to draw a conclusion. It is hard to decipher the world which is ambiguous.

 All the four elements make our life harder by making us difficult to comprehend the world, a market or industry. COVID-19 is a suitable example to illustrate how the world has changed so rapidly. A large number of individuals around the globe lost their jobs and businesses. Simultaneously, some businesses gained momentum. Individuals in some professions are stressed over their future career, while, then again, individuals in some other professions got advancements and pay hikes. Coronavirus has exacerbated things by posing a threat to the physical well being. When affluent people with all the medical facility, find it difficult to fight against corona if they had any past ailments that worsen the case, the pressure is twofold for the economically low-class individuals who cannot afford the medical expense. 

Lack of competency made it difficult for a larger part of the population to lead a comfortable life during this turmoil. This pandemic is only the trailer of the VUCA world that we are about to witness in future.  The unique challenge the world is confronting presently is giving us a message that what got us here may never get us there. 

Every cloud has a silver lining. Researches proved what behaviours are crucial in our success.  In the VUCA world, the swift, strong, or smart may not own the race. As per the research, the one who is most adaptable, who learns from the experience and co-evolve with the complex adaptive systems within which they work and live wins the race. Our traditional educational system focuses only on IQ, which leads to analytical skills and procuring new technical knowledge. IQ is unquestionably needed to get into the game. Be that as it may, the game never finishes here. To obtain long term success, one needs to acquire new behaviours. This is where agility comes into the picture. 

Traditional learners are confined to their conventional intelligence, whose attention is on getting better grades in tests. Agile people are quick thinkers who are curious and take initiative. They develop a wide scope of reasoning. VUCA world never lets anyone perform a similar job or tasks. The individuals who are with high agility are capable of performing well in the challenging circumstances, in a wide range of occupations, regardless of whether it is their first time. 

At the point when the change is constant, agile people are flexible and adaptable to change. They are driven by challenge. They have a growth mindset and are open to feedback.  More importantly, agile people understand themselves better and are equipped for working with a variety of people. They know how to deliver results in spite of ambiguous circumstances. 

Spiritual quotient also plays a major role in dealing with the VUCA world. India is a cradle of spirituality where many spiritual organizations have positively impacted corporate governance. As per a survey conducted among 210 corporate employees by ASSOCHAM in 2019, it was discovered that 48% of the employees are experiencing fatigue because of general anxiety and 42.5 % of employees in the private sector were suffering from depression or general anxiety. Studies have proved that many corporate leaders, both from India and abroad who have pursued courses in spiritualism, are now happier and stress-free. The peaceful mind leads to better decision making and ultimately results in better performance. 

The solution to VUCA lies in the same letters. A leader must have a Vision, Understanding, Clarity and Agility. A vision to create a future, the ability to listen to understand, the ability to overcome chaos, and the ability to have a better network help people overcome the hurdles.