Searching for Serenity in a VUCA-Plus World

VUCA is deservedly becoming the coin-of-the-realm among those who assess, plan and predict while serving in the mid-21^st Century role of leader or expert. The challenges associated with VUCA are deservedly considered large in number and size, as well as multi-tiered and nested inside one another (Bergquist, 2021b).  To make matters even more “realistic”—and challenging—I have added two other aspects to VUCA. They are turbulence and contradiction. Both of these aspects are interwoven in the tapestry of VUCA. They each add a further layer of challenge to that now being faced by us in our mid-21^st Century society. Turbulence concerns the interplay between rapid change, cyclical change, stagnation and chaos within our current world. Contradiction concerns the ongoing delivery of messages that are each perfectly valid. However, each message offers quite different perspectives on and interpretations of reality.

We must make decisions in settings that are filled with volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Decisions must be made in a turbulent environment that is swirling with contradictory versions of reality and polarizing values. We are worn out having to grapple every day with the conditions of VUCA-Plus. Many observers of our contemporary social condition have gone so far as to suggest that this an era of Great Exhaustion (e.g. Newport, 2016; Stoycheva, 2022). Thoughtful consideration and caring compassion are required—even when we are overloaded and tired.  Furthermore, analyses we have made and decisions we have enacted are subject to frequent review and modification as we try to navigate a turbulent and contradictory VUCA world. This certainly is the case if we serve in the role of leader, expert – or coach.

The Search for Serenity

I propose that collective anxiety—often identified as Angst–is not some ephemeral and diffuse fear that comes automatically with living (though this might also be the case). Rather, Angst in mid-21^st Century life is linked specifically to the six aspects of VUCA-Plus. These six aspects not only create Angst, all six make the amelioration of the conditions of Angst that much more difficult. This cognitive and affective difficulty, in turn, tends to pull us toward simplistic, reality-denying and polarizing beliefs and solutions. There is an important ramification here for those who seek to lead or consult to 21^st Century organizations and social systems. These leaders and consultants often must deal with the major VUCA-Plus-related challenges that escalate collective Angst.