Organisations and their leaders are having to adapt more quickly and be more agile than ever before. Leading change is a critical skill as it is no longer enough to just be a competent leader – the businesses that have not survived recent challenges did not all have poor leadership.

 

Modern leaders need a new approach. DCo build VUCA into Change Management and Leadership Development Programmes for this reason.

 

What is VUCA?

VUCA is an acronym for an environment that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. It originated in the military from the 1990s as the world faced radically different threats and has interesting lessons for leaders operating in VUCA business environments.

How is VUCA applicable to your business?

The four categories of VUCA are critical for leaders to understand and manage:

Volatility: Unexpected or unstable challenges. This is clearly seen in global and financial markets, during economic downturns, with the increase in technology and connectivity.

Uncertainty: Basic cause and effect aren’t known. Forecasting is more difficult as the past is no longer an accurate way to predict future outcomes.

Complexity: Situations are interconnected with many variables. Organisations face multi-layered business challenges and the volume or nature of the variables can be overwhelmingly complex.

Ambiguity: Causal relationships are not clear. Situations are open to more than one interpretation and often lack a precedent. This lack of clarity can create the potential for misreading events. It requires managing ‘unknown unknowns’.

 

A VUCA Programme prepares leaders to identify, get ready for, and respond to events in each of the four VUCA categories. Becoming competent in leading within a VUCA environment requires leaders to be able to demonstrate agility in predicting the results of their actions and assessing how much they know about situations. The training also enables leaders to explore the practical application of VUCA leadership and how this translates to the business culture, structure and operations within their sector and organisation.

Managing the inevitable impact of introducing any change within a team and organisation requires specific change management skills.

 

Being change ready, and open to the huge benefits that it can bring, is essential for managers yet it is not uncommon for them to be fearful of change and unsure how to overcome the barriers and challenges that it presents for their role.

 

DCo’s bespoke approach allows you to define the type and level of support that you need in this area.  For example we can provide programmes that develop change management skills alongside project management skills as these two areas are often interlinked.  The delivery of projects that produce organisational change are common, and preparing managers to handle people’s response to change ensures it is more likely to be successfully adapted.

 

Supporting managers to understand change cycles and responses to change within a context that is applicable to their experience and work environment is hugely beneficial to the way they plan, approach, communicate and adapt their own response to change in the workplace.

 

Our delivery of development programmes is always challenging, relevant and interactive.  Examples of areas that might be explored within a change management programme include:

• • Identify manager’s current strengths and challenges in driving change forward

 

• • Raising awareness of the change curve and managing barriers

 

• • Understanding critical success factors for change to occur

 

• • Building resilience and the ability to cope with ambiguity

 

• • Delivering compelling messages and holding challenging conversations

 

• • Working on attitude change and the behaviours to role model

 

• Involving a team in idea generation and innovation

Managing people who are experiencing change within the workplace requires the demonstration of strong leadership and skilled management.

 

Implementing any significant change can result in negative behaviours from some individuals. People are naturally concerned about the implications of change and this can become evident in the way they respond.

 

Ensuring people are supported effectively will ensure that morale, engagement and productivity of individuals and teams remains high during periods of change.

 

We provide managers with pragmatic tools to prepare and lead teams through change.  The delivery style of this programme is active and experiential to ensure that managers are able to undertake skills practise in the particular challenges that are relevant to their experience.

 

As an example of what can be included in this programme, the following areas are important skills for supporting others through change:

 

• Strategies to move people through different stages of change

 

• Demonstration of active listening and providing appropriate challenge

 

• Handling resistance

 

• Understanding and identifying different responses to change

 

• Communication techniques in times of change

 

• Management responsibilities during times of change