When the current state of the world poses extraordinary challenges the right leadership can be the difference between a teams success and failure. Facing uncertain situations our instinct is to delay taking decisions until we have a clear assessment of the situation where in most cases you fall behind in trying to control a situation before it aggravates.

The pandemic which resulted in the great big stay home forced the working society to adapt to technology more than ever since rapid and unpredictability has become the new norm.

What is a VUCA World?

A word that first came to light in 1987 which brought the new way of seen and reacting to the world where experiences, dogmas and paradigms are under continuous questioning that results in innovation. There is no longer one proven way or the perfect system but innovative and smart approach to thinking and acting on your feet.

The acronym VUCA stands for VOLATILITY, UNCERTAINTY, COMPLEXITY, and AMBIGUITY. In a constantly changing world events unfold at an unpredictable speed; it becomes an uphill task to determine the cause and effect where problems and their repercussions are more multi-layered, harder to understand. This makes historical forecasts and past experiences lose their relevance and as a result it quickly becomes rarely applicable, challenging our personal value systems to the core.

How can you be proactive and see through volatility?

In any working environment people reach their fullest capacity if they are conditioned to an work culture where the simple formula of PIP (Praise Improvement praise) is applied. In other words, employees may contribute their skills and services in a more qualitative manner if you understand their perspective from a human standpoint and develop empathic behavior as decision makers which will result in a team more willing to engage in genuine cooperation and take on clear responsibilities which will lead to innovation. What this means to you as a decision maker is to have the VISION, UNDERSTANDING, CLARITY and ADAPTABILITY to forge internal and external connections through networking and understanding how to steer anxiety and resistance into productive energy with the diligence to apply energy and force exactly where it’s most effective which will as a result facilitate innovation and building up resilience in the team.

Proven approach was a thing of the past, critical thinking is in demand today!

Udara Watawana

What qualities you need to posses as a leader?

You may be an entrepreneur, CEO of a business or a director or even a mid-level manager. If you are in a position of taking decisions? You are responsible for the lion’s share of decisions you need to take to define the way your company moves ahead in your purview and as a whole. In a nutshell the below qualities will get you and your team what you need to survive in a VUCA World.

• Effective Communication
• Focus and Confidence
• Responsibility and Honesty
• Vision and Delegation
• Creativity and Commitment
• Empathy and Optimism

When we are facing uncertain situations daily since there is no longer one proven way to sustain a company in business. We should train ourselves to be proactive in assessing situations on the go and to innovate as an effective and a committed team. Developing empathic behavior with a positive culture in a company is vital to a company’s longevity and growth; this is the responsibility of leaders as decision makers in a world that poses extraordinary challenges.