How Leaders Can Make Sense of The Age of Chaos
It was around June of this year when I first read an article about a new lens to look at this chaotic world we live in today. What do I mean? For 3 decades we’ve been using VUCA as a way to describe our volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world. But our world is VUCA no more!
I can remember in our Psychology of Planned Change class we’ve discussed many times how businesses are treading the “edge of chaos” (C. Langton, 1990 and S. Kauffman, 1995). But today, with what’s happening, we are no longer at the edge — we are at the age of chaos!
Aptly said by Jamais Cascio in his article about BANI — the new lens to use and make sense of the “age of chaos” that we live in. BANI stands for Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, and Incomprehensible. Since then, articles have sprung up, and I tried to understand BANI and how it could potentially affect how we see leadership.
Part of my work is to help leaders clarify their roles and competencies. I need to equip leaders through coaching and other interventions — but I need competencies that are evidence-based or undoubtedly proven to be relevant in today’s context. This is what BANI made me feel as it describes our present context very well. What I learned is that BANI has caused leaders to question and hopefully break free from certain illusions.
Because our world can be brittle, we can let go of the illusion that something, or say, a business industry can be unbreakable. And instead, replace it with our ability to create backup plans. The sooner leaders admit that anything can “break”, the sooner they can understand how a solid backup plan can really help them move forward. Take a look at your current business industry today. What guarantees you that it is never going to break? What backup plans do you have in place?
Because external factors are causing unprecedented changes in our environment, the world is anxious. Any action we take can be the wrong one! Leaders need to let go of the illusion that they can control things — especially outside of their areas of influence (but sometimes within!). But wait, isn't leadership and management about control? Well, that’s exactly the point — not anymore! Instead, leaders should focus on mindfully being aware of their emotions and how they affect decision-making — and extending that awareness to others through empathy. What place do mindfulness and empathy have in your leadership today? How is that showing up in your day-to-day?
Today, the lines between cause and effect have completely disappeared. There is no longer a straight line that connects your efforts to a guaranteed outcome. Our “proven” methods and strategies have turned into live experiments trying to prove our hypothesis (i.e. strategic plans). Predictability is an illusion! The leader’s ability to be adaptable matters more today. Being adaptable doesn’t mean we don’t plan — that simply means we don’t get attached to our plans that we ignore the signs around us. How do you respond when things in your business do not go as planned?
We try so hard to acquire knowledge to understand what is going on around us. But in an incomprehensible world, knowledge is an illusion. In fact, since the internet, nobody holds a monopoly of knowledge in a certain role anymore. Your direct reports can catch up on what you know, and could potentially become subject-matter experts in minutes. Because a complete picture of any business situation today is elusive, and knowledge can easily be obsolete, leaders need to hone something else — their intuition. The leader’s ability to develop and utilize their intuition alongside data when making critical decisions. How are you intentionally utilizing your intuition in your decisions today?
BANI gives us a new lens, but it also reminds us that we, as leaders can create hope for a better future for those we lead if we are conscious and adapt our way of leading to the current context of our world.
