2022 international webinar facing vuca, how academics navigate the new normal part 2

VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. In essence, the VUCA world means the world we live in today, where change is very fast, unpredictable, influenced by many factors that are difficult to control, and truth and reality become very subjective. If we want to survive in today's world, we cannot avoid progress. We can only adapt. As Albert Einstein said, "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change."


Awareness of VUCA theory today encourages many people to adapt more quickly and effectively. If someone resists change, then it is likely that that person will experience various lags that are quite far. Moreover, with the rapid development of information and communication technology as it is now, any changes in one place will be very easily and quickly transmitted to other areas.


STEKOM University as a professional educational institution with a global outlook is also trying to build an academic community that is responsive to the VUCA phenomenon. This reason is one of the reasons that prompted STEKOM University to hold an international webinar involving speakers from within the country and abroad who specifically discuss various fields related to the VUCA phenomenon. The webinar uses the title “Facing the changing business world in the VUCA Era”.

The seminar was held on October 20, 2022 with 2 speakers from Malaysia and one speaker from Indonesia. The first speaker at the event was an associate professor. His full identity is Assoc. Prof. Dr. Umm Naiemah Saraih. Dr. Ummi serves as a leader at the Center of Excellence for Social Innovation & Sustainability (CoESIS), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), MALAYSIA. The title of his presentation was “Living in a VUCA World: How Academic Leaders can Navigate the New Normal”.


At the beginning of his presentation, Dr. Ummi explained about the table of contents of her presentation. There are approximately 4 main points that will be conveyed by Dr. Ummi, namely introduction, leader navigating VUCA, role of follower, and conclusion. This news article is a continuation of the material with the same title in part 1 which has discussed the relevance of VUCA today.


This article discusses Dr. Ummi on how leaders navigate VUCA. In the initial explanation Dr. Ummi about how leaders navigate VUCA is to use the method with the same acronym, namely VUCA. However the VUCA used to navigate has a different meaning and is a VUCA solution with the first meaning. VUCA that acts as a solution are Vision, Undestanding, Clarity, and Agility.


The first implementation of the vision solution in volatility is communication. Communicating goals and directing followers in that direction relentlessly makes it easier to deal with rapid change. The second is belief. Belief in ourselves and others, supported by facts and figures will also make it easier for us to deal with rapid and continuous changes. The third is focus. Make sure your followers' efforts are aligned and focused on the right areas so that changes are easy to deal with.


Next is the implementation of understanding in the face of uncertainty. This implementation of the first is high curiosity. By asking questions that challenge the status quo in your institution every day, it will be easier for us to find certainty about an event or problem. Next is empathy, by exploring the background where followers come from, namely their hopes, fears and desires, then we will more easily know the direction of an incident or problem. The last one is open-minded. By exploring new ideas, reflecting on and seeking constructive criticism, it will also be easier for us to unravel the uncertainty in the problems that arise.


Next is the implementation of clarity in complexcity. This first implementation is a simplification. If the complexity can be simplified properly and we can sort out the important parts then the complexity of the problem will be easier to read. The second is a logical reason. Support with facts and figures will be very petrified, but don't ignore intuition to achieve success that's why we must also believe in our experience. The last of these implementations is systems thinking. The problem approach from a holistic perspective will reach every possible solution that is most appropriate to the complexity of the existing problems.


The last VUCA navigation method is the implementation of agility in ambiguity. This implementation of the first is a decision. Decide on the terms based on the best choice that can optimize benefits for all parties. The second is the speed of adaptation. Adapting quickly to changing circumstances and learning from previous mistakes will clarify our position in the current situation. The last one is empowerment. If you empower the value network through hierarchies, collaboration over control, and freeing followers to do their best work, the position of each issue will also become clearer.