Improve your VUCA-bulary

In this so-called “post-truth” world, we’ve seen the rise of leaders who utilize more of their charisma to rally their supporters to their vision. Leadership that appeals more to emotions (whether it be sincere passion or spitefulness) rather than a balance of logic and sentiment appears to be gaining increasing popularity. 

Indeed, the writing is on the wall, and we see this reflected everyday in the news and on social media. Putting this in perspective, I suddenly remembered the words of Peter Senge, whom the Financial Times called “one of the world’s top management gurus,” and was named by the Journal of Business Strategy as the Strategist of the Century. In his book entitled The Fifth Discipline he outlines 11 laws, the first of which states that “today’s problems come from yesterday’s ‘solutions.’”

That’s powerful stuff, especially in light of the socio-political and socio-economic climate we’ve witnessed in the past decade. It has always been a pattern of behavior, especially for our leaders, to look to their predecessors in order to blame them for present difficulties. Take note, however, that this is not limited to politics, as this is just as prevalent in professional organizations. No matter how well-meaning some “solutions” from previous leaders are, there will always be unforeseen outcomes that will be carried over to the next in line.

My guru Besol Lopez explained to me that there is no escaping this inevitability, especially in a VUCA world. VUCA, it turns out, is an acronym that perfectly describes the reality we live in, and the everyday situations that we are forced to navigate: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. 

Besol is the president of The Rizal Academy for Innovation and Leadership (TRAIL) whose main goal is to provide executive education that focuses on creating true learning organizations. These are groups that seek to create their own future, assume that learning is an ongoing and creative process for its members, and develop, adapt, and transform themselves in response to the needs and aspirations of people, both inside and outside of the organization. As expected, TRAIL advocates and promotes many of the principles and methodologies of Dr. Senge, and are perhaps the leading authority on his material here in the Philippines. 

According to Besol, the best response to VUCA – quite interestingly – is also VUCA: Vision, Understanding, Context, and Agility. By applying each response properly to the appropriate situations, leaders can become excellent problem solvers, regardless of what they inherited. 

This casual, yet enormously insightful, conversation I had with my friend made me realize that reading materials about this subject matter would only begin to scratch the surface of this life-changing topic. Fortunately, TRAIL exists and is ready to shape aspirants into true leaders.

Besol also told me that Dr. Senge, despite his jampacked teaching schedule (at MIT and the New England Complex Systems Institute) and international speaking engagements, will be coming to the Philippines next month to conduct a seminar.  TRAIL will be hosting the event, entitled “Dance of Change in Age of Complexity” at the Shangri-La Hotel at the Fort on Feb. 21 to 23. Dr. Senge’s “Deep Dive” mentorship sessions, to be held at the last day of the conference, will be a culmination of all the discussions and lessons handed out and learned from the first two days.

I highly recommend aspiring leaders – regardless of which sector you belong to – to grab this rare opportunity to learn from the foremost experts in organizational management, systems thinking, and positive transformation. Through balanced leadership that is based on both passion and science, we can create better leaders that can potentially lead us to a better future.

For more information on TRAIL and the upcoming conference, you may visit http://rizalacademy.com, email Chenny Galano at [email protected] or Janine Bacsa at [email protected], or call landline 7278300 or mobile 0917-8086881                                         

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Emmanuel Libre Osorio, a multi-awarded poet, essayist and short story writer passed away on Jan. 12.  He was associate editor and regular columnist at the Philippine Collegian in UP-Diliman and contributor to several  publications, including WHO Magazine  and the Literary Apprentice.

Wawell, as he was popularly called, was also a lecturer  at UP Diliman  and consultant of Dr. Carlos P. Romulo when the latter was UP president and later Secretary of Education. He wrote extensively on Muslim affairs and was a major proponent of the Ninth Ray Movement.

Osorio, who hailed from Cebu and Quezon City, is survived by his brother Tito, sisters Victoria Fe O. Medina, Margie, Migen and Nieves; in-laws Florenda Herradura, Gemma  Segucio and Florencio Isagani Medina III, and nephews and nieces.

Wawell was honored at touching traditional rites sponsored by his Upsilon Sigma Phi Fraternity brods at the Fairview Park United Methodist Church in Quezon City.

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A solace in the midst of rancorous developments is the small volume on the favorite poems of the late Sen. Raul Roco which his wife, Sonia, published on the occasion of  Raul’s  fifth death anniversary  on Oct. 26, 2009.  Raul, writes Sonia, chose poems for when their children needed pieces for elocution contests or for declamation,  and “those that he loved to read aloud to me.”

Let me print two of his poems which Sonia prays,  will allow readers “to  remember Raul with love, be grateful for his goodness, and celebrate a life gracefully lived.”

An oft-quoted poem is that of Dylan Thomas – “Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night”.  

“Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of  day;

Rage,  rage against the dying of the light

 Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forced no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

 Good men, the last wave, by crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

And here’s Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, and Where, and Why (Sonnet XLIII)”:

“What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,

 I have forgotten, and what arms have lain 

Under my head till morning; but the rain

Is full of ghosts tonight,   that tap and sigh

Upon the glass and listen for reply, 

And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain

For unremembered lads that not again

Will turn to me at midnight with a cry.

Thus in winter stands the lonely tree,

Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one,

Yet knows its boughs more silent than before:

I cannot say what loves have  come and gone,

I only know that summer sang in me

A little while, that in me sings no more.”

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Email: [email protected]