Leadership in a VUCA World

May 4, 2023, at 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm

In the month of May, AWiB brings you Leadership in a VUCA World. VUCA is an acronym for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. It is a leadership style that considers how to deal with these things in various situations, such as a pandemic, political divisions, and civil wars.

VUCA was introduced to leadership training in the early 2000s but has been around since the late 1980s. It originates from an American war college, where it was created to reflect the reality of the end of the cold war. In light of the pandemic, it has become increasingly popular.

We live in VUCA times; the world is becoming increasingly uncertain, dynamic, and complex. By understanding the four elements of VUCA, people will have a better understanding of the changing landscape and prepare for the future.

Let’s see what each element refers to…

1. Volatility: refers to the rapid rate of change that characterizes today’s world. Events can occur quickly and unexpectedly, leading to instability and insecurity. In Ethiopia’s volatile market, for example, the prices of commodities can rise considerably in a short period of time, and the direction of a trend may reverse suddenly.
2. Uncertainty: refers to the lack of predictability and clarity, making it difficult to plan for the future. With ever-changing conditions, decisions must often be made with limited information.
3. Complexity: refers to the interconnectedness of different parts that comprise a larger whole. A change in one place may cause unintended changes to other things down the line. In a complex market, for example, the changes in gas prices affect the prices of many other items that are not directly related.
4. Ambiguity: refers to the presence of multiple interpretations and meanings, making it difficult to know what is true and false. This can create confusion and make communication more challenging.

How Can VUCA Leadership Help Ethiopians?

AWiB is a networking platform and a leadership institute that envisions empowering women leaders from all over Ethiopia. We want to help people understand that it is an opportunity for leaders to advance and that agility is one of the most necessary skill sets to address VUCA. AWiB’s aim is to cultivate a leadership culture to manage change and uncertainty by providing a platform for networking, leadership development programs, and advocacy.

To foster a leadership culture, VUCA allows leaders to think strategically and remain agile in changing conditions. It encourages collaboration and helps to ensure that all parties involved have access to the same sources of information, enabling a more cohesive and effective approach to addressing complex problems. Leaders always have to lead themselves first; then, they lead by example setting high standards for themselves, hence others. They are courageous and don’t support injustice of any kind.

Since most Ethiopian culture seems to be resistant to change, do we truly develop the necessary skills to become effective leaders who strive to keep up with the ever-expanding world? Current issues such as civil war, displacement, ethnic-based violence, and religious tension have made the country increasingly hostile –a shortage of VUCA leaders.

Speakers

Addis’ other ventures include founder and CEO of 251 Communications, a public relations firm, co-founded KANA TV, a free-to-air satellite channel, and an investor in “Chigin Tobiya,” a TV Show where entrepreneurs showcase their businesses to investors.

Addis has been successfully navigating Ethiopia’s unpredictable and unstable business landscape, applying his solution-oriented mindset to overcome every obstacle. He is a firm believer in solutions to problems and works tirelessly to create opportunities for the country’s young generation, entrepreneurs, and business community to prosper.

Ms. Hikmet is also the founder of the Women Entrepreneurs Group (WEG) that later became the current African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) Ethiopia Charter. She has served as Vice-Chair on the Board of Directors for Global Insurance S.C. and also as the General Manager of Attco, a family-owned business established by her father, Ato. Abdella Abdulmalik, in 1969. Hikmet is an active member of AWiB’s Female CEO Breakfast Club (FCBC).

Recently she took part as one of the 50 members of the Destiny Ethiopia Initiative, primarily, to come up with four Scenarios of possible futures in the year 2040 for Ethiopia. Now she is a member of the Women Caucus within the Ethiopian Inclusive Dialogue (EID), hosted in CDRC.

Hikmet, sits on The Board of Trustees of The Center for Dialogue, Research and Cooperation (CDRC) which is an independent Ethiopia-based non-profit think tank, as well as a member of the Board of Directors on Ethiopian Red Cross.

Representing Ethiopia, she acts as an International Partner of World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF), an organization committed to collaborating globally to empower the economic development entrepreneurs. Rahel also serves as a board member at The African Diaspora Policy Centre (ADPC), a leading African diaspora think tank in Europe in the field of migration and development.

She holds an honor MBA degree from the University of Wolverhampton (UK) and MA in Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Amsterdam and BA in International Business Management from four European Countries.

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