Leaders live in a time of unprecedented change and solutions aren’t always obvious. Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) are lurking at every corner. To thrive in this complex world, leader’s need support in advancing their thinking capabilities. This session will provide practical frameworks and resources on how to develop VUCA skills in your leaders.

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Developing VUCA skills in Leaders

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4. © Copyright 2019SOURCE | Global Leadership Forecast 2014-2015

5. © Copyright 2019SOURCE | Adapted from Global Leadership Forecast 2018
IneffectiveLeadershipStrategy
EffectiveLeadershipStrategy
19%
23%
22%
23%
14%
18%
16%
21%
21%
27%
34%
33%
25%
32%
32%
24%
37%
35%
Act decisively
Anticipate and react
Maintain effectiveness
Capturing organizational knowledge
Navigating through complexity
Responding to competitive environment
Understanding and acting
Operating in a highly digital environment
Using data
% of Orgs ready to meet each
business challenge

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“The overriding theme of what I’ve been
hearing from clients recently is that they’re
a bit stunned–shocked, actually–at how
the leadership-development programs
they’d had in place were not able to
meet the needs of their business as we’ve
gone through these tremendously
disruptive economic changes over the
past few years.”
Bill Pelster
Principal, Deloitte Consulting
SOURCE | Future Trends in Leadership Development 2014

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SOURCE | Adapted from Global Leadership Forecast 2018
Leadership Quality – Little Progress Six Years Running

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To successfully navigate
VUCA, Leaders need to
develop in 4 areas

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To successfully navigate
VUCA, Leaders need to
develop in 4 areas
Typically MBA and
Leadership Development
focus on the Outer Game
The Outer Game is
necessary, but insufficient
The Inner Game runs the
whole show

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Leadership DEVELOPMENT – Holistic approach
Outer Game
Inner Game

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HORIZONTAL DEVELOPMENT
What you know:
• Increase Knowledge
• Increase Skills
• Increase Competencies
• Improve Behaviors

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HORIZONTAL DEVELOPMENT
What you know:
• Increase Knowledge
• Increase Skills
• Increase Competencies
• Improve Behaviors

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How you think:
• Advance thinking capabilities
• Increase ability to handle complexity
VERTICALDEVELOPMENT

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How you think:
• Advance thinking capabilities
• Increase ability to handle complexity
VERTICALDEVELOPMENT

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Leadership DEVELOPMENT – Holistic approach
Outer Game
Inner Game

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Manager at Yellow Taxi in
New York City
Status Quo - Customers
schedule a driver or go stand
in street to hail a cab
Uber just launched
How to operate in a
highly digital
environment?

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How to operate in a
highly digital
environment?

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1 What’s in it for me?
Who is in charge and enforcing things?
2 What will others say?
Am I doing this right?
3 How does this forward my bigger goals?
How might I interact with others on this?
4 What can I learn from this?
How does it connect to other things I am working on
and care about?
SOURCE | Adapted from Changing on the Job
How to operate in a
highly digital
environment?

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We don’t have a
leadership
challenge.
We have a
development
challenge.

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SOURCE | Adapted from Lectica and Developmental Testing Service

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“The structure of our
identity [complex
thinking capacity]
determines how we
show up as a leader,
how we deploy
ourselves into
circumstances.”
Bill Adams, Mastering
Leadership Book

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What is the core
leadership activity to
achieve outcomes?

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SOURCE | Adapted from Lectica and Developmental Testing Service

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Take perspectives
Seek perspectives
Coordinate Perspectives
Collaborate
Design thinking
Develop Ability
Classroom
Developmental Assessment
Developmental Coaching
Development Methods
Collaborative Capacity
Bring together diverse perspectives to develop
inclusive, innovative, and effective solutions.

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Polarity management
Asking different questions
Systems thinking
Design thinking
Develop Ability
Classroom
Developmental Assessment
Developmental Coaching
Embed design thinking in
processes
Development Methods
Contextual Thinking
Consider problems in terms of broader systems and
contexts in which they are embedded.

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Continuous Learner
Manage Complexity
Develop Ability
Developmental Assessment
Developmental Coaching
Embed continuous learning in
processes
Development Methods
Cognitive Complexity
Ability to think well about complex issues.
Can take ~18 months + to move one level in cognitive complexity

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Collaborative Decision-Maker
Determine Boundaries
Develop Ability
Classroom
Developmental Assessment
Developmental Coaching
Embed into decision-making
processes
Development Methods
Decision-Making Process
Quality of deliberative process.

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Learning/Coaching Programs Developmental Coaching
Developmental Workshops
VLC Programs develop a leader’s
complex thinking
Use “ASE” for 5% discount off Emerging & Advanced Leader Programs if register by March 29, 2019

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Continuous cycles
of learning
Deliberate practices
in learning, thinking,
and deciding
Iterative decision and
collaboration tools
Leaders need three things
to build VUCA skills:

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Leaders need
continuous cycles
of learning…

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Leaders need
deliberate practices in
learning, thinking, and
deciding

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Leaders need
iterative decision and
collaboration tools

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If you don’t know where you are going,
you’ll end up someplace else.
— YOGI BERRA

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Conditions to spark
vertical development
Measurement of vertical
development
Both?

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THANK YOU.
Today’s presentation can be
freely downloaded from
SlideShare at:
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RebeccaAndree
becky@VerticalLeadershipConsulting.com
231.577.9852
VerticalLeadershipConsulting.com