This week I attended an event in which the speaker talked about talent acumen. She defined talent acumen as having a keen understanding of the talent capabilities needed to deliver business results; we must know what our future organizational needs are and identify the kind of talent that can meet those needs. The speaker went on to talk about finding potential organizational leaders and nurturing their respective gifts and abilities.
These leaders, she said, must be able to operate in the context of a VUCA world. I had heard of VUCA, but hadn’t explored it much. VUCA, a concept that was developed in the military, stands for:
- Volatility
- Uncertainly
- Complexity
- Ambiguity
The event speaker suggested that we research the writings of Bob Johansen, a noted leadership futurist (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJqCPFzq6kU&list=PL6CBA92350183DBD2&index=6). Johansen says that VUCA is the setting in which we will be living for the next 10 years. During the speaker’s presentation, an attendee offered, by way of example, the health care industry. This is the industry in which he works, so he certainly has a sense of its “VUCA-ness.” But I think that most of us who do not work in healthcare would agree. Another example of VUCA is our unprecedented access to information.
Given my own work context, I wondered whether the same VUCA world exists in the context of current and future demographic changes. I think that it does. But what skills might leaders in my client organizations need as the United States becomes more racially and ethnically diverse?
Johansen says that leaders must emphasize that the VUCA world is not going away; the world will continue to change significantly. The leader’s role is to provide clarity in the midst of that world. According to Johansen, leaders must move us from volatility to vision, from uncertainty to understanding, from complexity to clarity, and from ambiguity to agility. What does this look like in terms of strategy? Johansen says that leaders must be clear about where they are going, but very flexible about how they get there.
To that end, in a diverse world leaders must have a broadly inclusive vision that is created in the context of cultural competence. And though their vision must be clear, their methodology for getting there must be adaptable.
