When the Soviet Union began to break up in the early 1990s, the Americans coined the acronym VUCA to describe the situation. It stood for:
- Volatile
- Uncertain
- Chaotic
- Ambiguous
It was a good way to describe how things felt to ‘Kremlin Watchers’ during those times and perhaps more widely understood today. A post-pandemic global recession, war in Europe, disruption to food and energy supplies, runaway inflation, rising interest rates threatening the viability of mortgages, and that’s before we talk about climate change!
If ever there was a VUCA world, this must be it.
It’s easy to look at what’s going on and get distracted, worried or upset. As current or aspiring business leaders, part of leading through adversity is about knowing how to focus when times are tough. From my military background, there are two key principles we can apply to the business world that effective leaders should keep in mind in this type of situation.
Plan, prepare, and practise
During the 2020-2021 Vendée Globe non-stop around the world yacht race, the French sailor Kevin Escoffier was about 800 nautical miles off Cape Town when his yacht quite literally folded in on itself.
It sank in two minutes.
This race is for yachts crewed by just one person, so Escoffier was on his own. He had just 120 seconds to radio a message to his onshore team and get into his life raft with a grab-bag of emergency rations and a personal AIS beacon which transmitted his position to rescue crews.
Escoffier completed all these urgent tasks and survived. He sent the radio message, set up his life raft, grabbed his emergency rations and beacon. All in a frighteningly short time window.
This was no accident. Escoffier had planned for just such an emergency. He knew what he needed to do, he knew where to find everything and he practised his response many times.
Plan. Prepare. Practise.
These are the three Ps that can save your life when you’re in choppy waters and serve as a valuable template for how we can navigate a VUCA environment as business leaders.
When times are good it can seem pessimistic to be scenario planning for disruptions that are distant risks rather than immediate realities, but you will be grateful when it matters.
Don’t panic!
When things go wrong, you may want to scream, or cry, or punch the wall in frustration and those who advocate for “authentic leadership” can interpret this as being unfiltered with our personal emotional experience. However, in leadership as in life, there is a time and a place for everything. Sometimes our authentic desire to be professional and the best leader for our people may best be fulfilled by giving others confidence and support when they are concerned, rather than fully expressing our own vulnerabilities.
Another sailing story to illustrate the merit of this more stoical approach is personal to me. I can tell you in no uncertain terms how it felt captaining a yacht around the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland through a strong tide and bad weather. On the inside I was panicking that we were in serious trouble and angry at myself for leading my crew into a dangerous situation, but I needed to maintain my composure.
We were quite literally in stormy waters and the expression “worse things happen at sea” was providing very little comfort.
The crew were asking if everything was all right. I needed to be honest about the reality of the situation. It was important they knew to take safety seriously and generally be at a heightened state of readiness. But it was also important for them to know that I had this under control, was confident in my ability to deal with the situation and that they could trust me and focus on the task at hand.
The very fact I am writing this now is proof that we made it.
Once we were safely back on land, I disclosed how I had been feeling at the time and reflected on some things I thought I could have done differently. I believed that was the right time and place for me to share my vulnerability with my crew.
As a leader in business, when you’re in metaphorical stormy waters, your people will look to you. When times are tough, it is vital to be honest about the realities of the situation. Your people want to know what’s going on and it builds trust. it is also important how you convey your emotions. If you’re panicked, flapping like a windsock, they will rightly have cause to worry. Only now they’re not just worried about a bad situation, they’re also worried about whether you’re the right person to lead them through it.
It’s all about the context
The common theme for both these principles is context. We plan, prepare and practise for situations that are not current but are important for us to know how to manage when the time comes. How we lead is also contextual. There are times to be authentically emotional and honest and there are also times when a display of confidence and in yourself and others is what is needed. Balanced leaders understand the context and how to respond.
