This document discusses leadership challenges in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world. It argues that leaders need opportunities to quiet their minds and gain new perspectives in order to develop insights. The document proposes that a leadership experience aboard a sailing yacht could provide such an opportunity. Leaders would learn about leadership through experts, practice sailing, and captaining the yacht while leading an inexperienced crew. This simulated experience in a new context is intended to challenge leadership thinking, build self-awareness, and generate insights that could help leaders navigate today's VUCA world.

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5. Today, organisations need not only an unprecedented higher level of knowledge and skill
among all those who participate but also a higher level of independence, self-resilience, self-
trust and the capacity to exercise initiative
- Nathaniel Branden, As cited in Nohria & Khurana, 2010.
Knowing is one thing…doing is another…and generating the leadership insights takes more
than training…
“There has been no transformation in the workforce and there has been no metamorphosis”
- Argyris, 1998
“The leadership gap persists because you can’t train leaders. It’s a transformational challenge”
- Cambridge Leadership Group, 2013
Transformation Through AHA’s!
Transformation allows people to become who they need to be in engage the challenges and
complexities they are facing. It seeks to move us from being “in over our heads”
- Kegan, 1996; Keegan & Lahey, 2001)

6. The AHA recipe!
Leadership
AHA’s
Quiet
Mind
Positive
Mood
Knowing
DooingGap
Industry
Learning's
Insight can be defined as sudden
comprehension/awareness resulting in a
new interpretation
- David Rock

7. Quiet Mind - Problems are solved in the unconscious. In order to have an insight you have to
stop thinking. Leaders will have difficulty generating insights at work as their brain is too noisy
with day to day activities.
Positive Mood - fMRI studies show that people are more likely to solve problems with insight if
they are in a positive mood. Anxiety and uncertainty cause the opposite reaction.
Knowing Dooing Gap – “How do you know when you know something? When you can produce
what you claim to know” (Nicolas Humeau, 2011 quoting Argryis).
Industry learning – To have insight you need to lay the foundations, collect more pieces of
intellectual/experiential puzzle. Pockets of knowledge must exist for an insight to occur
through new neural connections of previously seemingly unrelated information.

8. Follow your passion to lead people
through a unique exploration simulation
in the VUCA world! Get in touch with
your sense of higher purpose and drive to
make a sustainable difference in your
world! Build your resilience, unleash your
creativity & curiosity and most of all have
fun onboard the VUCA world yacht!

9. An Invitation to Leadership
Transformation!
WHY?
“Our mental sets and perceptions hamper our ability to see
alternate perspectives necessary to overcome impasses and
reach insight solutions. Our capacity to expand the range of
possibilities that we are exploring seems to be a critical aspect to
the experience of insight.”
Jonathan Schooler, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, University of
California, Santa Barbara.
Allow the VUCA World Yacht to challenge your leadership
perspective!
HOW?
Understand the leadership implications of VUCA world
Experience VUCA world leadership
Test your leadership knowledge and skills through the VUCA lens
onboard the VUCA Yacht.
WHAT?
One week Experience
Monday - VUCA Knowledge from leadership experts
Tuesday - Learn to Sail & relaxation evening
Wednesday - Experiential VUCA Leadership Experience
Thursday – Leadership reflections, insights & discussions
Friday – VUCA leadership Part 2 – 2nd Leadership Practice Day
During the VUCA leadership experience you’ll captain the yacht,
leading the inexperienced crew into the unchartered
territories.

10. The Purple Beach
AHA! Recipe
Leadership
AHA’s
Quiet
Mind
Positive
Mood
Knowing
Dooing
Gap
Industry
Learning's
Leaders need a reality break in
order to quieten their mind and
allow insights to flow. The yacht
provides this opportunity with
focus and relaxation elements built
in.
‘The neural challenges of the
senior leader – sleep, stress
& performance’ Jessica
Payne, Notre Dame.
Onboard the VUCA yacht
leaders will focus on sailing
and leadership. Their change
of context will initiate a
positive mood as they break
free from the day to day
stress and focus on the boat
experience. Fear not! We’ll
order some sunshine in to
enhance the toward state!
Leaders will be challenged to
practice what they know, or think
they know. Increase self-awareness
will generate insight through
realization.
Leaders will build upon their
knowledge of leadership,
challenge their leadership
thinking and apply this to the
VUCA world through the
sailing
simulation/experience.
Insights will be sparked
through new connections of
learning.

11. “Tell me and I forget,
Teach me and I remember,
Involve me and I learn”
Ben Franklyn

12. “Find your VUCA leadership compass!”