Is Your Context Complicated or Complex?

Leadership is not carried out in a vacuum but always in a context. Your context determines the competencies you need as a leader to carry out tasks effectively and efficiently.

Increasingly, the leadership context has shifted from a complicated context to a complex one. Our approach to leading must be totally different.

What our leadership is prepared for (left) vs what's actually happening now (right).

Complicated contexts are those that, despite having many parts, are relatively well defined and linked together in more or less simple ways. The Complicated allows us the possibility of treating and studying each component in isolation. To a certain extent, by influencing one area we can predict how it will affect the others.

Complex contexts are those made of multiple parts, which interact with each other in constantly changing ways. The vast number of interactions occurring generates change at higher speed, with unpredictable results.

Most of our organizations and leadership paradigms have been designed to operate in Complicated contexts but cannot keep up in Complex contexts. We need new ways of leading.

This new complex environment has also been called VUCA, which is an acronym for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity.

The VUCA framework can guide toward a leadership response.

Each element in VUCA is tremendously challenging on its own, but the combination of all four elements generates exponential change. Old paradigms and accumulated knowledge and experience become obsolete with tremendous speed.

Introducing the VUCA-7™ Assessment

How prepared are you to successfully operate in a VUCA environment?

The VUCA-7™ tool is designed to evaluate the required competencies of an individual to lead effectively in a VUCA world. VUCA-7™ is focused on 7 key competencies to lead efficiently in a VUCA environment. The 7 competencies arise from thorough analysis of the latest published research.

VUCA-7™ Competencies

1. Learning
2. Alignment
3. Agility
4. Adaptability
5. Clarity
6. Integration
7. Creative instinct

VUCA-7™ Sub-Dimensions

Each VUCA-7™ competency consists of 7 sub-dimensions, for a total of 49 assessment points. These are useful to show to what extent a leader has integrated these competencies into their leadership style and how well they are managing themselves within the organization.

The VUCA-7™ assessment author, Andreu Ortiz will be leading this interactive workshop, along with Dr Keith Webb and Félix Ortiz.

With this workshop you will understand the keys to dramatic shifts in leadership. You will identify your strengths using the VUCA-7™ assessment and will develop necessary skills so that you and your organization can face turbulence and disruption.

• You will see how vision gives us clarity and direction in the midst of uncertainty.
• You will learn flexible leadership styles that allow you to adapt to a highly volatile and ambiguous environment.
• You will see what strategies are necessary to face our increasingly complex environment.
• You will delve into the keys to change and build a resilient action plan that’s future fit and VUCA-proof.