VUCA: A New Look at a Leadership and Change Framework

There’s an old saying that the only constant is change. It's hard to argue with that and it's certainly the case in the business world, where change is in the air.

Change is being driven by a variety of catalysts. In a more socially and environmentally conscious world, organizations are shifting to focus more on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) programs and business operations. Digital transformation is also well underway across the broad landscape, as businesses look to continuously deploy technology at scale to improve customer experiences and lower costs. In still other situations, companies are refreshing their brands to create a new look, feel, and experience that better resonates with today’s consumers.

The ultimate goal is to put together a cohesive and focused leadership effort that blends the power of people, processes, and platforms to deliver lasting change.

Recently, I participated in World Strategy Day, an event sponsored by Cascade, with a discussion focused on change management. Featured speakers came from a cross-section of financial, consumer product, and technology companies and the concerns and approaches identified were largely the same across industries.

To provide context, VUCA has long been defined as Volatility, in addressing the rapid and unpredictable nature of change; Uncertainty, in isolating the potential issues and events that may result from change; Complexity, in looking at the intertwined forces and impact of change; and Ambiguity, in experiencing the lack of clarity and misunderstanding that change often creates.

A new way to look at VUCA is:

• V = Vision and the need to clearly articulate the mission of the change while setting the tone for what's to come. Delivered by top management, the vision should include an explanation of why the change is taking place, what needs to be accomplished, and how important the change is for the future success of the organization. Overall, the vision is an opportunity to express the long-term benefits of the change, all while acknowledging short-term challenges in a business-as-usual culture.
• U = Understanding and carefully examining the intertwined issues, problems, and cause-and-effect relationships impacted by the change. This largely combines the uncertainty and complexity components of the traditional VUCA definition but adds a focus on open dialogue and formal initiatives to welcome input from every nook and cranny of an organization. Change experts know this effort often results in brilliant insights and creative ideas emerging from the most unlikely corners.
• C = Clarity and ensuring clear messaging throughout the change process. Communications from top management, group heads, and the change team, should be delivered clearly, with transparency on the decisions being made and their intended output. This type of information also helps to serve as a benchmark for tracking results once the change program is completed. Communications should be delivered often, and on a scheduled basis, so that workers can anticipate the timing of updates.
• A = Agility and the need to seek out new information and embrace change on a collaborative basis. While agile software development is often a major component of a change program, agility takes on the additional meaning of operating nimbly and flexibly in the face of dynamic circumstances. In essence, it is critical to agilely adjust to changes that might occur in even the most well-thought-out and planned change management programs.

It's not only a framework to positively address business changes and related challenges, but also a more effective way to embrace the opportunities those changes present. It's important to realize that if new programs and platforms are being implemented to meet the demands of a changing world, then the models we use for dealing with change have to evolve as well. So, three cheers for a newly defined VUCA and here's to welcoming positive change!

This Insight was prepared by Maria Lilly. Feel free to reach out with any questions or comments.