This is a guest post by Sayge Coach Charlie Martin.
Prior to the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was much talk about the fact that we were living in a VUCA World. VUCA in this case meaning:
Volatile
Uncertain
Complex
Ambiguous
If we were in a VUCA world before, what kind of a world are we in now?
Perhaps we are in a VUCA world on Steroids. Is there anything that is not volatile, uncertain, complex, or ambiguous? Is there anyone in the universe that is not impacted in some way by what we are all experiencing?
As you think about what you are facing, whether you are an individual trying to figure out what to do next or a leader with responsibility for thousands or hundreds of thousands of lives, what can you do? Is your experience useful? Is there any way to predict the future? We are faced with global, national, and local guidelines and advice but those guidelines fail to provide much clarity about what we should do.
So, what should we do in this VUCA on Steroids world?
I clearly do not have answers, but I do have some questions:
- Do we really have any ability to impact anything other than the moment we are currently in with any certainty?Is history of much help?
- Is history of much help?
- Is there any chance we can predict the future?
- Are rules and regulations much help?
- How critical is a growth mindset now?
- How clear has it become that perhaps we have not been as conscious of the value of humanity as we might have been over the past few years?
- What actions can we take in the moment to help us get through the current crisis and prepare for whatever is next?
- How compassionate should we be?
- What can we learn and do now to prepare ourselves and our organizations for a better future?
- How much personal accountability are we willing to take?
- Is there anyone who can make a bigger difference for you than you?
- How open are we to possibilities?
- How have your views about people changed?
I could go on and on with unending questions, but the point of this brief conversation is that the only thing we have any clarity about and ability to control is the current moment. In the current moment, the more agile we are the more likely we will be able the make optimum use of the moments we have. This is not a time for being rigid and controlled by beliefs we have that are just our beliefs and not reality. This is a time to explore possibilities and let our curiosity rise to the top of our awareness.
None of us know how long this VUCA on steroids condition will continue but considering we were already in a VUCA world I believe all bets are off concerning what the future is going to look like. Perhaps the best opportunity we have is to stay in the moment and take advantage of the time we have to learn, grow, stay flexible and curious and take care of ourselves and the ones we love so we can take advantage of whatever future we will face.
Each of us will play a role in designing what the future looks like by the actions we take, make yours strong and positive.
Charlie Martin helps Coachees at all levels clarify their goals, identify opportunities and achieve the success they envision. He combines 17 years’ experience as a certified coach with many years as a corporate executive with functional experience in operations, sales, corporate accounting, human resources and many senior leadership roles with P&L responsibility. He helps Coachees achieve excellence in a wide variety of growth opportunities including evolving to a larger responsibility, addressing communication challenges and transitioning into leadership.
If you’d like to hear how Sayge Coaches like Charlie can help unlock the power of your people, say hello.
