The acronym VUCA is a concept that originated in the early 1990s during the times of tectonic geopolitical change. The US military used it to set a strategy after the disappearance of the USSR and the global uncertainty that this change has brought.

VUCA soon began to gain an important function in theory and practice of leadership. This often-mentioned buzzword reminds some leaders of the four riders of the business apocalypse, while there are also those who accept a different life in VUCA world.

The first letter refers to volatility, which translates to instability of today’s business environment. We spend our days in an express pot of fast and unpredictable changes – as well as in the stress that these changes bring! We used to rely on previous experience when making decisions. Today, we often realize that our previous experience is not worth much because the speed, volume and dynamics of changes are something we haven’t encountered before.

What does a leader do in VUCA moments? He does not oppose change but lives with it. He takes a deep breath and says – okay, let’s move on. He thinks about new knowledge and skills, both for himself and his team. Let us ask ourselves: what is the knowledge that we need in the future?

An old-fashioned leader lost faith in strategy because he has to do it when he gets a template once a year for a five-year strategic plan. The leader of the new age spends one hour a week on strategy because he wants to do it, because it allows him to be more prepared for VUCA challenges.

Uncertainty refers to the uncertainty of future times. The rhythm of surprise when it comes to market changes is big. It’s difficult to make decisions and even harder to pass on self-confidence to a team.

New-age leader builds tolerance to frustration, first in himself and then in a team. We work according to a plan and then we encounter an obstacle that thwarts us in realization of a plan. That’s why we are dissatisfied and react to an obstacle in different ways. Sometimes we tell ourselves that the obstacle does not exist or that it is more trivial than it really is. We do this to make it easier to bear with frustration. Or we get very upset and rate the obstacle as “terrible”! What is really “terrible” in life? How realistic is the assessment of a business situation? If it’s less “terrible”, then it’s more bearable! That is when our conducts are less extreme and therefore closer to reality.

By practicing tolerance to frustration, a manager and the team he leads become tougher, more resilient and more flexible. When business challenges arise, a modern manager (and teams) does not think in extremes because extremes affect our perception to be black or white – unrealistic. Business environment is actually colorful, never completely negative and never completely positive. A company we work for is neither black nor white. It’s necessary to move away, to look at the problem from different angles, to balance the perception.

The uncertainty of times to come is conditio sine qua non. So let’s start from today to practice tolerance to frustration that uncertainty brings!

Complexity – numerous, difficult-to-comprehend events in an environment and in an organization are related in some strange way. It’s hard for managers to rationally connect cause and consequence.

In times of complexity, we just can’t go by ourselves! We can look for answers inside or outside the organization. It’s necessary to move the boundaries of the silo – business units, regions, company headquarters. We should work on a network of people which should help us understand complexity. One of the options is introduction of mentoring. There is less and less money for employee training, while on the other hand a company possesses a huge experience of its employees. It’s best learned with work, on specific examples, with the help of a colleague who has experience in this field. It’s important that the process is voluntary, both for the mentor and the mentee. My experience in mentoring teaches me that after a while the boundaries of the role of mentor and mentor are lost. Another interesting tendency is that experienced leaders work with mentors from the Y generation in order to better understand their values, attitudes and thinking.

Ambiguity is vagueness when it comes to interpreting a situation or business decision. How to behave? Do we have the answers to all questions in the mist of a business environment? Of course we do not.

That is why it’s important to listen to different logics and not reject them (due to automatism of previous experience). Explore new territories and encourage others to do the same. Allow the team to influence your opinion. Be available to your team! Leaders who are available have more trust in the team. They can reach you but that doesn’t mean that you will solve their problems. Let them come up to a solution on their own. Go through the offices and ask them how they are, show sincere interest for people who report to you.

(Biznis magazine, December 2019)