Enterprise Leadership in a VUCA World: A New Model

Abstract: We live in a dynamic and connected world. One could argue that the global environment is more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) than ever before. The rapid digitization and virtualization of the world, coupled with the increasing requirement to respond to multiple stakeholders, not just shareholders, underscores the importance of and need for adaptable and agile enterprise leaders that deliver results in the short term and create shared value in the long term. These leaders not only leverage vertical or functional expertise to drive operational excellence but also understand that global dexterity and horizontal enterprise leadership matters from a performance and change leadership perspective. The practitioners of horizontal leadership enable radical collaboration and transformational change across the entire enterprise while simultaneously delivering results. In short, they are “market multipliers” delivering a “dual transformation”. This type of transformation balances short-term outcomes but simultaneously enables the enterprise to thrive in a volatile environment in the long-term by creating sustainable shared value (environmental, societal, economic, financial) for all stakeholders. The focus on transforming and simultaneously performing is described as “transformance™” Leaders focus on four critical areas of enterprise leadership: 1) They articulate a compelling purpose that drives engagement and shared value. 2) They develop the leadership pipeline by building organizational capacity and capabilities that sustain excellence. 3) They understand that creating a better organization means developing better people. 4) They are focused on performance that inspires action and delivers results for all stakeholders. These four tenets, when applied in a balanced way, are the basic ideas create a balanced and complementary framework focused on execution and the creation of shared value. If one principle is out of balance or missing, the entire ecosystem is at risk of not achieving its full potential. The manuscript synthesizes existing frameworks and thinking into a working enterprise leadership model that enables practical application. As noted, the model is based on four foundational ideas: Purpose, the leadership Pipeline, People, and Performance. The model further outlines 12 practices of effective enterprise leaders. The model recognizes developing organizational capacity and capabilities is a process that is both sequential and experiential. The manuscript will conclude by outlining the paper’s limitations and suggesting future recommendations. The primary method of research was qualitative. A review of current literature and operating frameworks was conducted, and existing models were compared and contrasted, resulting in a new model focused on execution and delivering shared value.

Key words: enterprise leadership, resilience, shared value, change, purpose, people, performance, transformation, “transformance”