What is a World?
Volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) is the contextual description for our world coined by social scientists working with the US Army War College (USAWC) more than a decade ago. VUCA describes the USAWC expectation for the future world environment into which they send our military leaders after "graduation". After the 9/11 tragedy, the War College formally changed its name to VUCA University signaling their realization that these were going to be long-term descriptors and dynamics for future realities that leaders will face for some time.
Leadership agility is the capability of a leader to dynamically sense and respond to changes in the business environment with actions that are focused, fast and flexible. It is about a leader's ability to prepare all employees for a VUCA world that enables them to shift their mindsets and supporting skills from "I'm totally oblivious to the potential changes that might impact our organization" to "I see change coming and am prepared and already doing something about it."
Read our article Leadership Agility: A Business Imperative for a VUCA World
published in a special issue of The Journal of The Human Resource, People & Strategy
with the theme "Leading During Uncertainty: The Next Decade." The article provides a solid business case for a new framework for leadership in a VUCA world, practical application and results achieved from agility implementation at a consumer products company and implications of leadership agility for human resource professionals.