Abstract
Human nature has not changed since the beginning of time. One of the current global challenges is managing and adapting to the complexity and uncertainty of change and new demands. For instance, the coronavirus pandemic has led to a lock-down of countries all over the world. Many industries and factories were forced to shut down, adversely impacting global markets and economies. Levels of stress are soaring among employees due to rising employment uncertainty. Mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are escalating due to loneliness and isolation. The important question is how leaders and non leaders can lead themselves in order to deal with changing world and demanding volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environments.The purpose of this study is to determine if chaos and VUCA environments are indeed a gift. Some people is of the opinion that chaos can indeed be a gift if dealt with effectively (leading inter alia to innovation, better teamwork, better interpersonal relations and better performance). The method used is to analyse how prominent and successful world leaders dealt with the corona pandemic. Prominent world leaders will include Emmanuel Macron (President of France), Jacinda Adern (prime minister of New Zealand), Sophie Wilmes (prime minister of Belgium) and Tsai Ing-wen (president of Taiwan). Possible decison-making skills (for instance decisiveness and agility), inner skills (for instance self-awareness), emotional skills (for instance empathy and resilience) and social skills (for instance openness and support) are highlighted.
Presenters
Ebben van ZylProfessor, Industrial and Organisational Psychology, University of the Free State, Free State, South Africa
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
SELF-LEADERSHIP, CHAOS, VUCA ENVIRONMENTS
