The issue of succession planning and future talent is a key concern for many organisations, particularly in the context of an increasing scarcity of talent due to competition from emerging economies. However, whilst most organisations recognise that they need to focus on building talent from within, recent research (Mercer 2016) indicates that only a quarter of organisations believe that they have a robust method for identifying potential.

We are constantly bombarded with challenges that we cannot anticipate, problems that we cannot foresee and opportunities that we cannot predict. More than ever before, the modern business leader needs to be agile in order to guide their organisation through the unpredictability of the business world, often expressed by the term VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity).

So, what does VUCA mean for leaders now and those of the future?

LIVED® programmes are aligned to specific leadership levels ensuring VUCA readiness can be enabled throughout your organisation.

We offer LIVED® Leadership Programmes for the following levels:

Graduate Future Leaders
Front Line Leaders
Mid Level Leaders
Senior Level Leaders
Executive Leaders

We are moving from a world of problems which demand analysis and the elimination of uncertainty, to a world of dilemmas which require cognitive agility, sense-making, learning and the ability to embrace uncertainty.

Without the ability to consider the impact of these major trends, adapt to them and turn them to their advantage, leaders of the future will find themselves at a critical disadvantage.

The traditional ‘rule book’ on leadership needs to be dispensed with, in favour of a new set of skills and behaviours that will allow leaders to thrive in a VUCA world.

Organisational structures, business models, processes and procedures need to become adaptive, and, at the centre of these changes, are the leaders of the future who must adjust better, faster and more creatively than those of their competitors.

Volatility requires leaders to have Vision.

The capacity to anticipate future market trends and plan accordingly, staying true to your values and providing stability for the organisation by providing foresight of your desired future.

Uncertainty yields to Understanding.

The ability to cut through complex and often conflicting, information to identify patterns, as well as adapt the business strategy to drive competitive advantage.

Complexity is overcome by Clarity.

The desire to make sense of many inter-connected variables, interpret weak signals in the marketplace and plot a well-defined course through accurate goal setting and purposeful direction.

Ambiguity calls for high levels of Agility.

The agility to navigate successfully through the ‘unknown unknowns’. Experiment with new approaches, facilitate root cause analysis and accelerate learning to maximise opportunities.

The LIVED® Leadership Model comprises of five key dimensions that reflect critical leadership skills required for success in an increasingly fast paced VUCA world.

L

I

V

E

D

Learning: The willingness and ability to adapt to new environments and challenges by drawing on learning and feedback from previous experiences. Without this, leaders will continue to deal with challenges as they have in the past when a VUCA world demands a constant reappraisal of approach.

Intellect: Thinking incisively and dealing effectively with complex and ambiguous information, seeing issues in the broader context and making sound decisions based on this analysis. A flexible strategic and commercial mind is required to navigate through the challenges that VUCA presents.

Values: Acting in an authentic and consistent way, inspiring trust and demonstrating integrity, courage and respect for others. A leader’s value set has become a new currency and the way it reflects on an organisation can have a significant effect on its success.

Emotions: Managing own emotions, building positive relationships and using emotions to influence and inspire others. The ability to reach people in a way that transcends the intellectual and irrational is the mark of a great leader.

Drive: Set challenging goals, take an action orientated approach and show passion and determination to overcome obstacles, act decisively and achieve results.

Leadership the lived® WAY

Leaders Need to Search for the ‘Antidote’ to VUCA

Leaders need to search for the 'antidote’ to VUCA and, thankfully this exists in LIVED®, the only end-to-end Leadership Assessment and Development programme for VUCA readiness.

LIVED® incorporates the five elements required for VUCA FIT leadership: Learning, Intellect, Values, Emotions and Drive (LIVED), to assess and develop current and future leaders. The LIVED® programmes are aligned to specific leadership levels ensuring VUCA readiness can be enabled throughout your organisation.

The LIVED® Development Programme consists of a series of high-impact learning labs which is accelerated by coaching support and action learning. The programme aims to effectively change leadership behaviour and embed these changes to the extent that they become business as usual.

On completion leaders will be able to:

Define and articulate a clear vision for the organisation
The ability and skill to deal with unforeseen challenges
Use their intellect to cope with complexity and unpredictability
Cut through uncertainty and make effective decisions based on analysis and intuition
Effectively deal with stress and change