Today I want to talk to you about how to lead through uncertainty as a leader. Let’s take a look.
The U.S. military created this acronym – VUCA – right after the Cold War. It stands for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. It is important for us to be able to lead through change. It’s crucial, in fact, that we do that when things are volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, because we want to give our people courage. We want to give our people a pathway forward.
When something is volatile, we want to respond with vision. No one will follow a change if it happens too quickly, or seems so unpredictable that it doesn’t fit. Cast vision for this change and promote the why before the what.
When something is uncertain, we want to respond with understanding. People fear the unknown. No matter how difficult that may seem to you as a leader, you have to acknowledge their uncertainty. You have to acknowledge their fear and listen to those concerns that they bring forward to you.
When something is complex, we want to provide clarity. If your purpose or vision is clear, then people will follow you even when things seem complex or uncertain. Clarity is a must.
When something is ambiguous, we need to respond with agility. Be willing to make changes on the fly in order to make things clearer. If something is too complex, we want to be agile enough to bring that clarity forward.
Now that you understand how to respond to things that are volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, what are you going to do about it?