VUCA World — an opportunity for growth
Seek reinvention and build the best version of your future self
We live in an era of uncertainty, where change is faster than ever. The Future is increasingly uncertain, especially since the pandemic, global, economic, and political situations we face, and technological advances. Change is the only constant, and this applies to all areas of life. As a result, people’s needs, preferences, and interests are constantly evolving. We experience new challenges every day and must continuously adapt to them to persist and remain relevant.
VUCA, “an opportunity for growth”
There is a concept that helps to describe the volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity of situations in today’s world, and they have a significant impact on our lives in terms of professional performance, resources, and people management strategies. This term, known as VUCA, is used to understand how we can overcome unpredictable situations, and it was first introduced by the U.S. Army War College after the Cold War. However, it did not become popular until the ’90s to emphasize the changing situation of those times. After the pandemic, this concept has become even more popular in describing the different change scenarios companies face that we must adapt to.
In VUCA environments, the required level of adaptability to change depends on answering two crucial questions:
- How well can you predict the outcome of your actions?
- How much do you know about the situation?
VUCA Matrix
Depending on the prediction level and understanding of the situation, there are four scenarios to adapt to in changing environments:
- Volatility: Here, we find multiple rapid, unpredictable changes, unexpected challenges of unknown duration, and unstable situations. The more volatile the environment, the faster conditions change.
- Uncertainty: Environments with limited ability to predict what might happen in the future; therefore, we ignore what results and responses we should expect in these environments. This lack of certainty prevents any prediction from being made, and the more uncertain the environment, the more difficult it is to predict the outcome.
- Complexity: In this environment, interconnected variables add more complexity to the situation. The more complex the environment, the more difficult it is to understand and analyze situations to reach accurate conclusions.
- Ambiguity: The relationship between variables is unclear, complicated, or illogical in this environment, making it difficult to understand the situation precisely or if it can be interpreted differently. The more ambiguous the environment, the more difficult it is to interpret.
VUCA Prime
In 2007, Professor Bob Johansen, a member of the Institute for the Future, proposed the VUCA Prime in his book Leaders Make the Future. This business strategy model consists of four steps that help adapt to each changing scenario in VUCA environments with a specific positive response that we can apply at a personal level and in a company's decision-making.
The steps are Vision to respond to Volatility, Understanding when there is Uncertainty, Clarity to avoid Complexity, and Agility to respond to Ambiguity.
Although VUCA is synonymous with a fast-paced, crazy, ever-changing world full of obstacles, this situation can be leveraged to tackle professional challenges more effectively and efficiently. Instead of a threat or a blocker, the current uncertainty prevailing over environments of constant change presents an opportunity for improvement, growth, and evolution for both organizations and employees.
Ten essential skills to succeed in VUCA environments
Some professionals and companies need help to adapt to change and new perspectives. According to Professor Johansen, these are some of the skills we need to develop to adapt, succeed, and persevere in changing VUCA environments:
- Reinvention: The ability to know ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses, and make a constant training plan. Knowledge becomes obsolete, and we must evolve and commit to renewing our skills and expertise to adapt to VUCA environments. Step out of your comfort zone, never stop learning and prepare your mind for the next changes.
- Resilience: Is the capability to overcome adversity positively. To become resilient, we must avoid complaining since we are co-responsible for the reality we complain about. If we want to stop being part of the problem, we must start being part of the solution by providing opportunities to overcome our challenges.
- Perseverance: The ability to unlearn and never stop learning. Incorporating new learning requires discipline and determination. Learn from failure; the only mistake is when we learn nothing from doing something wrong.
- Autonomy: In VUCA environments, people are expected to work autonomously and responsibly, collaboratively, and assuming commitments and consequences.
- Flexibility and adaptation: These are the primary skills needed to face changes in VUCA-changing environments. — “It is not the strongest species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” — Charles Darwin.
- Teamwork, Collaboration, and Collective Intelligence: The ability to work with people who can add value and knowledge in those situations where we have better possibilities to get the best results as a team. The more minds that contribute to solving a problem, the more it helps us to find better solutions.
- Continuous Training and Autonomous Learning: Experience is crucial, but the ability to learn new things and become self-taught is equally important in VUCA environments. Reading books, listening to podcasts, and learning new skills that challenge us to increase our mastery level on different topics are valuable tools for gaining new knowledge and beliefs and understanding our environment from different perspectives. Those who best adapt to change through learning thrive.
- Innovation and creativity: The ability to face challenges with imagination and seek new and innovative solutions.
- Proactivity: Transforming limitations into opportunities is the best way to anticipate the changes that VUCA entails to provide an adequate response to new challenges.
- Creation of Communities: After the pandemic, we got used to taking advantage of working remotely, and we forgot that face-to-face coexistence is also essential to building bonds. Creating communities helps us stay connected and discover that many people have common interests. Generate interactions and casual connections, both intentional and unintentional.
“Seek Reinvention, never stop to learn, and be the change you wish to see in the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi
