Leading in a VUCA World
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12725/ujbm.54.5Keywords:
VUCA World, Leadership skill, COVID-19, Disruptive environmentAbstract
The current COVID-19 virus has put the entire world in lockdown, creating one of the worst times of a VUCA world. The changes that are happening because of the pandemic are large scale and occur suddenly. There is a shortage of leadership everywhere. Leaders are unprepared to lead effectively. In this fast-changing and disruptive environment, command and control structures fail. Leaders are expected to act on incomplete or insufficient information. They do not know where to start to drive change as increased complexity makes it difficult. Leaders lack time to reflect and end up acting too quickly or acting too late as they get stuck in analysis paralysis. They are far removed from the source and are forced to act with a limited understanding of events and their meanings. The role and type of leadership are being tested as we are trying to come out of this crisis. Leaders cannot predict the future but need to make sense of it in order to thrive. This paper would analyse challenges that are being faced by leaders in this critical period and how these can be converted into opportunities like a vaccine for the virus.
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