Stay Curious
Before we get into VUCA, let’s address an elephant in the room. It’s tempting to go into consultant mode. After all, you have the experience and know strategies that worked for you in the past. It’s likely you can help. There may be a time for putting on your consultant hat but it’s not the starting place. It helps to remember that as a coach you are helping to develop ministry leaders. Your role is to help them grow in their own gifts and abilities, and to build confidence in their ability to handle the responsibilities they have been entrusted with.
Begin by asking curious questions that are not tethered to an agenda. Beware of any bias you may have. It will contaminate the questions and you will risk losing the leader’s trust.
VUCA
VUCA was introduced by the U.S. Army War College to describe the more Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous multilateral world which resulted from the end of the Cold War.
- The “V” in the VUCA acronym stands for volatility.
- The “U” in the VUCA acronym stands for uncertainty.
- The “C” in VUCA stands for complexity.
- The “A” in VUCA stands for ambiguity.
Consider a real issue: a leader comes to you and is searching for ways to engage people in the church. You can apply the VUCA as you coach the leader to gain clarity on the situation. Note: there you have 2 main goals as you navigate VUCA; clarity and counteracting.
Volatility
Finding ways to better engage people is a good and healthy goal. And it requires people to change. Even dysfunctional systems can feel comfortable. And change is always uncomfortable. By nature, change is quick and can leave people feeling like the floor dropped out from under them. Change is also unstable. If not navigated well, things will entropy back to their more comfortable state.
The challenge is unexpected or unstable and may be of unknown duration, but it’s not necessarily hard to understand; knowledge about it is often available.
Questions for clarity
- In what ways is the current system not working?
- How is the current system taxing on staff and volunteers?
- What other changes have you made recently?
Counteracting questions
- How can you help people to feel seen and heard in this situation?
- What can you do to more solidly connect the change to the mission/vision/values of the church?
- How can you build understanding of the need?
Uncertainty
Unknowns escalate the feeling of loss of control. Current greeters may find purpose in their role and feel that purpose is threatened. Busy people have found community at the church and use Sunday’s to connect with their friends. They may feel like they don’t have capacity for more and asking them to connect with strangers is too much.
Despite a lack of other information, the event’s basic cause and effects are known. Change is possible, but not a given.
Questions for clarity
- In what ways does pursuing this goal interrupt people’s rhythms?
- What do people feel they have to give up?
Counteracting questions
- How can you help people to feel seen and heard in this situation?
- What assurances can you offer?
- How can you build understanding of the need?
- In what ways can you involve people in creating the solution?
Complexity
There are always ripple effects. Changing the way you greet people may require other ministries to adapt. Children’s Ministry may need to offer extended time for adults to connect with an earlier drop off and/or a later pick up. Student Ministry may need to plan for an extra game or supervision. Even parking could be affected.
The situation has many interconnected parts and variables. Some information is available or can be predicted, but the volume, or nature of it, can be overwhelming to process.
Questions for clarity
- Where do you see potential ripple effects?
- What other information do you need?
- What else?
Counteracting questions
- What information do others need to have?
- In what ways will you bring clarity?
Ambiguity
When everyone is on board with the changes the next question they are going to have is “What do I need to do?” If the right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing this can cause confusion and overlap. Staff and volunteers won’t be where they are supposed to be. Congregants won’t know what to do. This is frustrating for everyone. Ambiguity can take down even the best of plans.
Working relationships are completely unclear. No precedents exist; you face “unknown unknowns.”
Questions for clarity
- Who needs to oversee each aspect of the new system?
- How can you strategically involve others in decisions?
Counteracting questions
- How will you keep leadership roles and responsibilities clear?
- What are the different groups that need to understand the changes?
- What information does each group need?
- How can you effectively provide that information to each group?
VUCA in your context
Take a moment to reflect on the flow above. Think of a current situation you are facing in an upcoming coaching conversation. How does the VUCA framework help you organize your questions?
For the next 30-days experiment with this tool and see how it helps you coach clients to greater clarity!
Here are two VUCA blogs that were originally posted at www.infocusnet.org that will give you more insight to navigate complex situations leaders face:
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Cover Photo by Sharefaith