I’m just going to say it..
“It’s a different world from when I grew up.”
“I would hate to be raising teenagers right now.”
“Let’s just agree to NOT talk about politics.”
“The pandemic is over – get over it.”
Perhaps one of these statements hits home for you. At least one (or more) does for me. When you read them, did you feel the volatility, uncertainty, chaos, and ambiguity held within the statements? Where did you feel it in your body? Perhaps you are remembering your own conversations where similar statements were made and how they made you feel.
When I grew up, we didn’t have cell phones, social media or news outlets that catered to every and all sides of the political divide. My most prized possession as a teenager was my black and white rectangle phone that I got for Christmas. My friends and I listened to the dedication hour on the radio station, took pictures that had to be developed, talked on the phone, and passed notes in class. It’s quite literally the “old frontier” compared to the technology that impacts the lives of our teens today – constant access to communications, social media, instant photos, you know the scene – it’s a world of being always “on.” Both my mother and mother-in-law have said countless times how grateful they are that they do not have the parental challenges of having to navigate technology with our kids. But I digress.
It’s not just technology that is challenging us but perhaps it is because of technology that the world seems to be harsher, more divided, explosive, and tribal (even though it’s a wonderful tool to help keep us connected). This volatility, uncertainty, chaos and ambiguity is showing up on our personal devises, in our schools, at the dinner table, and in the workplace. Finally, throw in a global pandemic, for good measure, to drive many of us over the edge with feelings of anxiety, isolation (both physical and emotional), comparison, and judgment. It’s called VUCA and it is a concept that I have seen used in several forums to describe today’s challenging world.
VUCA – Volatile, Uncertain, Chaotic, Ambiguous
It was first described in 1985 by Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus, in their book “Leaders. The Strategies for Taking Charge.” VUCA was born to describe the four phenomena Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity and it is often used to describe our environment(s) today – whether it is the world of politics, the workplace, public health and safety, education, or technology and each demand intentional responses.
How does this land for you? Can you see VUCA tendencies in your workplace? Your statehouse? In the classroom? In your kids’ social circles? In yours? In your relationships? It’s all around us.
Again, asking you to reflect – when you read the words, “anxiety, isolation, comparison, and judgment” – could you feel it in your body? Our VUCA world is real, and it impacts each of us differently.
Now that we have the music of Darth Vader’s march looming in the background, perhaps it’s time to turn the energy around. The good news is this – people are talking about it! I am a Gen-X’er saying people are talking about it. That might be the first miracle coming from the generation that grew up in a “we don’t talk about that” world – a gift from prior generations, no doubt.
It’s good that we have some language to describe the challenges in the world today.
It’s good that we have a way to talk about it with our kids, in our businesses, and in our homes and I am hopeful that we can do a better job in our politics (more on that in a future post). There are a lot of smart people who are working very hard to weave in a new take on VUCA – one that includes:
- Vison
- Understanding
- Compassion
- Adaptability
and I’m going to add in Resilience.
I am seeing this movement in everything from educators to first responders, from the military to the oil field. It’s a new VUCA that builds a foundation in mindfulness and intuitive leadership, bringing awareness to emotional and mental wellbeing, so that we can change our world and support one another. It’s powerful stuff. Boy, doesn’t that make you feel like the Rebel forces are coming to the rescue?
