GROUP 4: UNCERTAINTY

What Does VUCA Really Mean?

VUCA stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. It describes
the situation of constant, unpredictable change that is now the norm in certain
industries and areas of the business world.

VUCA demands that you avoid traditional, outdated approaches to management

and leadership, and day-to-day working. These are usually too sluggish and
limited to be effective in a turbulent environment.
 UNCERTAINTY
Uncertainty refers to the extent to which we can confidently predict the future. Part of
uncertainty is perceived and associated with people’s inability to understand what is going on.

CHARACTERISTICS:
 Lack of Predictability.
 Sense of awareness and understanding of issues and events.
 The event’s basic cause and effect are known.
 Uncertain impact on the availability of key resources, including
capital, skills, knowledge, and talent.
 Past supply and demand metrics may not apply.
 Proposed legislation/regulations may be adopted.
EXAMPLE:
An example of uncertainty in the business world would be a competitor
launching a new product and not understanding how the markets and your
customer base will respond, which could impact your own product sales.
Other examples can include disruptions seen in the taxi industry with the
introduction of Uber, and the impact Airbnb has had on the hotel industry.

APPROACH:
 Invest in and process information by means of collection, interpretation and
sharing.
 This works best in conjunction with structural changes, such as adding
information analysis networks that can reduce ongoing uncertainty.
 CHALLENGES
Uncertain – Global skills shortages

With a potential shortage of 40 million high-skilled workers by

2020 increasing competition for top talent and a growing crisis
regarding the lack of future leaders is a very real issue within
organizations today. The first world’s ageing population has lead to
a shrinking of the labor pool while jobs are changing – companies
aren’t able to go out and easily recruit the all-in-one graduate,
technical and varied talent that’s needed to bridge the skills gap.

In a VUCA world of pace and uncertainty, leadership development

is of the utmost importance to the future success of leading
companies.