- We are moving from a world of problems, which demand speed, analysis,

and elimination of uncertainty to solve, to a world of dilemmas, which

demand patience, sense-making, and an engagement of uncertainty -

Leadership as usual, including creating a vision, is not enough in today's

world where business's are constantly at war. It is a VUCA world, and to
win this war business's will have to constantly fight for a place.
VUCA originated in the military as with the end of the world war countries began to
look out over the emergence of a multilateral, rather than a bilateral, global
landscape.

Militaries all over the world should be prepared;

•To take on increasing challenges from asymmetrical opponents, and sometimes

almost "virtual" opponents.

•To adapt rapidly to highly improvised weapons and tactics by their opponents.

•To respond quickly, effectively and efficiently to the explosion of technology-

enabled but frequently contradictory battlefield intelligence.

•To address the increasing ambiguity surrounding who was an "enemy combatant"
versus who is an "innocent civilian".

Which meant they had to deal with a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and
Ambiguous world where everything turns from calm water to turbulence in split
seconds.
Volatile Unpredictable, sudden and
extreme changes

Unclear, doubtful and

Uncertain
unreliable information

Complex Many different connected

parts, multiple factors, weak
signals

Ambiguous Many interpretations

Modern business's in a VUCA world

Our business environment is such that old styles of managing predictability cannot
be used anymore. Today we live in a world;

• Where new, muscular and sometimes asymmetrical global competitors are

emerging from developing economies which makes it volatile.

• Where traditional competitors are becoming more cut throat to survive in a low-
growth developed market which makes it uncertain.

• Where the explosion of "big data" is threatening to overwhelm decision makers

and where technologies are disrupting sectors and even whole industries faster
than ever, which makes it complex.

• Where global financial imbalances

continue to bedevil macro-economic
planning which makes it ambiguous.
 Importance of Cognitive Readiness in a VUCA world

Cognitive readiness is the mental, emotional and interpersonal preparedness for

uncertainty and risk. It is a tool set comprising of;

• situational awareness
• meta cognition - thinking about your thinking
• attentional control
• learning agility
• adaptability
• dealing with ambiguity
• managing emotions
• sense making, intuition - connecting the dots

In short cognitive readiness complements critical thinking by emphasizing on non-

rational, non-logical skills.
 Critical thinking Vs Cognitive thinking

Critical thinking is the ability to recognize assumptions, evaluate arguments

and draw conclusions.

It consists of;
• Strategic thinking
• Creative thinking
• Problem solving and
• Decision making

For a business to survive in a VUCA environment, leaders need to both think

critically and be ready cognitively, Priority here should be given to cognitive
readiness as it allows leaders to maintain a better sense of self control in
stressful situations.
 How to solve VUCA issues from cognitive
readiness and critical thinking

"Volatility" is mitigated by having a proper "vision", a clear cut master statement of

where the organization is headed. When met with volatility leaders need to
communicate clearly to the stakeholders and make sure their intent is understood.

"Uncertainty" can be yielded by "understanding", when met with uncertainty

leaders should remain flexible and invite fresh perspectives in to their management
styles.

"Complexity" is checkmated by "clarity", when met with complexity leaders must

collaborate and make sense of "all the chaos"

"Ambiguity" is matched by "agility", when confronted by ambiguity

leaders must communicate clearly and move on with speedy
solutions.
A leader who is cognitively ready and thinking critically must then focus on
coaching and mentoring his team of workers to achieve organizational
goals and objectives,

For this, results based leadership style can be used. This can be given in
the following simple equation.

Effective leadership = leadership attributes × results

This equation suggests that leaders must strive for excellence in both
terms: that is, they must both demonstrate attributes and achieve results.

Simply the knowledge enriched leader must now make sure his
organizational culture, employees and customers are lead towards
achieving results.
 Results based leadership framework

5 Organizational Results

4 Customer Engagement

3 Employee Engagement

2 Organizational Climate

1 Self leadership and team effectiveness

1) Self leadership and team effectiveness - A leader should ensure his team is
of high performance and use any and all leadership styles to mentor them.

i) Leading in a VUCA business environment

ii) Repertoire of leadership styles and ESI
• commanding leadership - requiring immediate compliance
• visionary leadership - mobilizing people towards a vision
• participant leadership - creating emotional bonds and harmony
• democratic leadership - building consensus through participation
• pace setting leadership - excelling and self directing
• coaching leadership - developing people for the future
iii) S.C.O.R.E. high performance team
• strategy and purpose
• clear roles and responsibilities
• open communication
• rapid response
• exemplary and effective leadership
2) Organizational climate - Leader must then make sure the organizational
climate is influenced by leadership styles. The way reports are made, decisions
are taken and crises are handled can make a big impact to the organization.

• High performance corporate culture

• Flexible policies for multi generational workforce
• Pay for performance compensation philosophy

3) Employee engagement - An organization's employees have always

made the difference between a truly successful organization and a
mediocre entity. Leaders who value employees and don't consider them as
mere costs that needs to be rid of will strive in the long run.

• Employee turnover rate

• Employee engagement Index
• Employee net promoter score (ENPS)
4) Customer engagement - Performance of employees and leaders will help
the organization to retain its customers.
• Customer engagement ratio
• Customer lifetime value

• Improve customer experience

5) Organizational results - creating value for customers will create value to
the business.
• Revenue, growth, market share
• Profitability, ROI, ROA, ROCE
• Cost reduction and optimization
The future will be different and it will surprise. Now, more than ever leaders
need to navigate challenging times and meet increasing expectations and
lead their organizations to achieve sustained success.

To survive in this VUCA business environment leaders must train

themselves on cognitive readiness and mentor their employees on how to
achieve organizational goals through a results based leadership.

"Assume nothing
Question everything
Open your eyes
Challenge the Opposition
And start thinking..."