Leading in VUCA

A leading financial institution wanted to enhance the leadership skills of its top team so that they would be better equipped to lead in highly volatile times and enable the organisation to achieve its ambitious vision.

With significant organisational shifts underway, the bank recognised the need for leaders to be able to adapt and thrive in the increasingly VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) landscape. To meet this challenge, the bank sought a programme that would enhance both individual and collective leadership capabilities.

We designed an agile, insight-led 'Leading in VUCA' programme, which consisted of four phases and involved questionnaires, 121, group and team coaching, self-study, workshops and events.

1. Create a Personal and Collective View of the Situation – Leaders completed our Leading in VUCA Self-Assessment and got input from each other. They then received personalised VUCA dashboards and had 121, group and team coaching to identify individual and collective strengths and areas for improvement.
2. Set Development Goals – In this phase, the leaders used the insights from the first phase to create high-impact personal and team development goals.
3. Carry out chosen development – Here, leaders carried out their chosen personal and collective development.
4. Measure Impact – Leaders retook the Leading in VUCA Self-Assessment, got input from each other and their teams and received their updated personalised VUCA dashboards. They then had coaching to discuss the value they had gotten from the programme and shared successes with each other.

Quantitative shifts: significant shifts in 20 factors under the 5 areas of our Leading in VUCA Framework.

1. Understanding the Bigger Picture and Having Clear Expectations
2. Understanding & Managing Self (Self-Leadership)
3. Understanding Each Other & Stakeholders
4. Having Clear Strategic Goals, Robust Strategies, and Assigned Resources
5. Executing & Reviewing.

Qualitative feedback: leaders reported that they had moved from a group of individuals to a team, with increased empathy and understanding, respect, trust, openness, alignment, support and care for each other. They said, and supported by input from their direct reports, that they had improved and strengthened leadership of their teams and business areas – more open, clearer and had tools to aid higher quality thinking and engagement. And were more courageous and skilled to have the crucial conversations to drive results and wellbeing.

Other very senior leaders also reported significant positive shifts in the leadership team’s performance and how they led and managed their direct reports.

“It was the gift that just kept giving. It was absolutely transformational and had a profound effect. I gained a greater understanding of myself and my colleagues. I changed how I operate - more direct, less accepting of the norm, more able to implement change. We became a team and worked much more effectively together. The whole journey made us more ‘human’ and approachable. It helped the ExCo to have more of a presence.” Member of the ExCo, at the bank.