Complexity in Change: The VUCA Model

Since the 2008 financial crash and the COVID-19 Pandemic, there has been a cost of living Crisis; we live in a world that VUCA governs: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. This model originated from the US Army War College Experience as defining strategic leadership within a ‘volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment’.

Much of this work was based on the original thinking of Bennis and Namus, cited in the book ‘Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge’.

Using the VUCA Model, we need to ask some leading questions similar to Vulnerability Analysis and Risk Mitigation.

In his 2016 book, Leaders Make the Future, Bob Johanson states that Leaders can change the following four factors :

Volatility yields to Vision

• Which elements of our business environment are most volatile?
• How can we better generate the data to understand what prevents us from tackling these threats?
• What strategies can we adopt to decrease the volatility?

Uncertainty yields to Understanding

• How can we manage uncertainty in our business environment?
• How can we identify the key factors hindering our performance and our future?
• How do we create a plan to manage change to reduce the intensity of uncertainty in our business strategies?

Complexity yields to Clarity

• Where are the immediate and longer-term threats to our business?
• How can we develop simple strategies to counter these?
• How can we innovate out of the complexity conundrum?

Ambiguity yields to Agility

• How do we identify ambiguity in our service delivery, problem-solving, culture, and behaviours?
• How can we best use innovation and IT to resolve conflicts and ambiguity?
• How best can we utilise our people in eradicating negativity and promoting positive change?

Contact Philip for more information on how to tailor this model for your own unique change management solution.

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