Leadership in a Vuca World
1. Source: ThunderBIrd School of Global Management
Living and Leading in a VUCA World
By Paul Kinsinger and Karen Walch, Ph.D.
The concept of a VUCA world — one that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous — was introduced by the U.S. military as the Cold War ended and as the United States looked out over the emergence of a multilateral, rather than a bilateral, global landscape. This meant being prepared to take on increasing challenges from asymmetrical opponents such as nonstate militias and other loosely organized, sometimes almost “virtual” adversaries; to adapt rapidly to highly improvised weapons and tactics by those opponents; to respond quickly, effectively, and efficiently to the explosion of technology-enabled, but frequently contradictory battlefield intelligence; and to address the increasing ambiguity surrounding who was an “enemy combatant” versus who was an “innocent civilian.”
These factors have played out “in spades” in both Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in attempts to confront other VUCA situations such as the pirate menace off the Somali coast and intervening militarily in Libya. Being engrossed in such a turbulent, frequently unpredictable environment has given rise to new modalities for thinking about leadership in the armed services, especially at unit command levels that have borne the brunt of the need for quick, effective leadership and decision making.
The VUCA concept was brought home to many Americans after 9/11 but really gained currency in the private sector with the onset of the financial crisis in 2008-09, when companies and organizations all over the world suddenly found themselves faced with similar turbulence in their business environments and, subsequently, in their business models. Although the financial crisis has bottomed out and global growth is slowly returning, many organizations are experiencing a “new normal” in their business environments and are realizing that the pre-crash world — and its paradigms —
Living and Leading in a VUCA World
By Paul Kinsinger and Karen Walch, Ph.D.
The concept of a VUCA world — one that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous — was introduced by the U.S. military as the Cold War ended and as the United States looked out over the emergence of a multilateral, rather than a bilateral, global landscape. This meant being prepared to take on increasing challenges from asymmetrical opponents such as nonstate militias and other loosely organized, sometimes almost “virtual” adversaries; to adapt rapidly to highly improvised weapons and tactics by those opponents; to respond quickly, effectively, and efficiently to the explosion of technology-enabled, but frequently contradictory battlefield intelligence; and to address the increasing ambiguity surrounding who was an “enemy combatant” versus who was an “innocent civilian.”
These factors have played out “in spades” in both Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in attempts to confront other VUCA situations such as the pirate menace off the Somali coast and intervening militarily in Libya. Being engrossed in such a turbulent, frequently unpredictable environment has given rise to new modalities for thinking about leadership in the armed services, especially at unit command levels that have borne the brunt of the need for quick, effective leadership and decision making.
The VUCA concept was brought home to many Americans after 9/11 but really gained currency in the private sector with the onset of the financial crisis in 2008-09, when companies and organizations all over the world suddenly found themselves faced with similar turbulence in their business environments and, subsequently, in their business models. Although the financial crisis has bottomed out and global growth is slowly returning, many organizations are experiencing a “new normal” in their business environments and are realizing that the pre-crash world — and its paradigms —