Implications of VUCA-Plus Conditions
In our mid-21st Century world, we must communicate, resolve conflicts, solve problems and make decisions under challenging VUCA-Plus conditions. There is ambiguity, uncertainty and contradictory. Polarizing values are present making thoughtful consideration and caring compassion difficult to sustain; furthermore, the information we share, conflict we confront, problems we face and decisions we must make are subject to frequent review and modification as we try to navigate our volatile, complex and often turbulent VUCA world.
Volatility
It is hard to think and work when everything is swirling all around us. It is hard to navigate in a storm. Goal setting is often unrealistic and subject to review and revision from multiple perspectives. The ad hoc character of our VUCA-Plus world often produces a feeling of infinite possibility and an unrealistic sense that the sky’s the limit. Failure and disenchantment frequently are associated with a lack of realistic goal setting unless the process of designing and managing an organization includes not only re-examination of context and strategy but also the regular re-examination of goals.
Another frequent problem we faced in a VUCA-Plus world concerns the complex interpersonal and task related skills that are needed to run such an organization. We are often “in over our heads” when seeking to build and sustain a viable working relationship with other people. When this sense of “drowning” is prevalent we look for someone to blame or grasp onto someone else who is drowning with us. Rationality is replaced by a focus on survival.
Thus, it seems that we must enter the challenging world of VUCA-Plus with several critical skills. First, is the ability to think in a careful, systemic manner about the world swirling about us. It is easy to think quickly with nothing but a desire to make the anxiety go away. We are fleeing the real and imagined lions identified by Robert Sabolsky (2004) in his study of stress—but to little avail. Second, we must acknowledge this VUCA-Plus-associated challenges. We must be mindful of the stress and find ways to reduce it while being proactive in our response to the VUCA-Plus challenges.
Finally, our problem-solving and decision-making in a VUCA-Plus environment must be done in collaboration with other people. We are not strong enough to fight about the VUCA-Plus challenges alone. It is in collaborative dialogue with other important people in our life that we find the courage, clarity and strength to not just make sense of our mid-21st Century world, but also learn from the VUCA-Plus challenges and find nourishment and sense of self-purpose in successfully confronting these challenges. Yet, it is in the need to seek collaboration that we are likely to discover differences that make collaboration difficult. It is hard to collaborate when we are afraid.
Uncertainty
There is a lack of predictability in our contemporary world—and increasing prospects of surprising and “disruptive” changes that often overwhelm our awareness, understanding and ability to cope with events. Under these conditions of uncertainty, we are desperate to make sense of and finding meaning in what is occurring in the present reality (Assimilation). By contrast, we also recognize that we must make changes (Accommodation) by adjusting or reworking our existing framework. This perspective concerns learning from and adapting to what is occurring in the present reality. As assimilators, we want to take a strong stance regarding our current beliefs and actions while immediately dismissing the beliefs and actions of those who are disagreeing with us. We “know” that accommodation is necessary, but also know it is difficult and fortify against this painful requirement of change. The required “cognitive stretch” is indeed challenging.
