Thriving-in-a-VUCA-World

1. www.iclif.org The Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre. All rights reserved.
Thriving in a
VUCA World
“Making sense out of chaos”

2. www.iclif.org The Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre. All rights reserved.
What is VUCA?
A acronym that
stands for:
• Volatile: unstable,
constant change,
unknow duration

3. www.iclif.org The Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre. All rights reserved.
What is VUCA?
A acronym that
stands for:
• Uncertain:
past not a
good
predictor of
the future

4. www.iclif.org The Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre. All rights reserved.
What is VUCA?
A acronym that
stands for:
• Complex:
many
interconnected
parts and
variables

5. www.iclif.org The Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre. All rights reserved.
What is VUCA?
A acronym that
stands for:
• Ambiguous:
No precedent
exists,
unknown
unknows

6. www.iclif.org The Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre. All rights reserved.
Our
VUCA
World
Volatile
Uncertain
Complex
Ambiguous
The Interplay of VUCA

7. www.iclif.org The Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre. All rights reserved.
Assessing VUCA
Two Key Questions about VUCA:
1. How much do you know about the situation?
2. How well can you predict the results of your
actions?
 Volatile: not necessarily hard to understand;
information is available
 Uncertain: basic cause and effective known
 Complex: information available but volume or
nature is overwhelming
 Ambiguous: no clear direction, hard to predict

8. www.iclif.org The Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre. All rights reserved.
Assessing Your VUCA World
Use STEEP to assess VUCA from 5 Perspectives
Social
Technological
Economic
Ecological
Political
Your task: in table groups apply the STEEP framework to
assess the level of VUCA in your environment

9. www.iclif.org The Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre. All rights reserved.
VUCA in the World of
Central Banking
• Volatile: currency fluctuations, North Korea, oil
prices, terrorism
• Uncertain: climate change, technology
• Complex: globalization, geopolitics,
interdependence of financial markets,
• Ambiguous: Bitcoin, blockchain, virtual reality

10. www.iclif.org The Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre. All rights reserved.
Thriving in a VUCA World
Thriving
in a
VUCA
World
Volatility
to
Vision
Uncertainty
to
Understanding
Complexity
to
Clarity
Ambiguity
to
Agility

11. www.iclif.org The Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre. All rights reserved.
Thriving in a VUCA World
Volatility can be countered with vision because vision is
even more vital in turbulent times.
Critical Skills: future orientation, transparency, clear
communication, commitment to a better future.

12. www.iclif.org The Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre. All rights reserved.
Thriving in a VUCA World
Uncertainty can be countered with understanding, the
ability of a leader to stop, look, and listen.
Critical Skills: Engagement, collaboration, flexibility, value
diversity.

13. www.iclif.org The Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre. All rights reserved.
Thriving in a VUCA World
Complexity can be countered with clarity, the process to
try to make sense of the chaos.
Critical Skills: problem solving, decision making, effective
communication, data analysis, clarity and transparency.

14. www.iclif.org The Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre. All rights reserved.
Thriving in a VUCA World
Ambiguity can be countered with agility, continuous
learning and adapting.
Critical Skills: accountability, change-advocacy,
innovation, technology-centric.

15. www.iclif.org The Iclif Leadership and Governance Centre. All rights reserved.