Your Perceptions About VUCA
Your perceptions about VUCA or any significant change are influenced by your skill set, experience set, mindset and habit set (behaviors).
Skills: Merriam Webster defines skills as the ability to use one’s knowledge effectively and readily in execution of performance, a learned power of doing something competently, a developed aptitude or ability. A skill set would be a combination of knowledge and skills that you possess and apply to situations. In some cases, these would be natural abilities and in others, they would be skills that you have learned over time.
Experience: Merriam Webster defines experience as practical knowledge, skill or practice derived from direct observation of or participation in events or in a particular activity. When it comes to dealing with VUCA, people who have successfully navigated experiences with the elements have built resilience. This helps them adapt to change more effectively and faster.
Mindset: Merriam Webster defines mindset as a mental attitude or inclination. Mindset is how you think and what you believe, and this influences how we perceive what is happening and how we think we should handle situations. Mindsets can help us recognize opportunities but can also open the door to self-sabotage. Mindsets are how you see and interpret the world around you.
Habit: Merriam Webster defines a habit as a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior. A habit set describes your typical behaviors exhibited when you face a situation. In other words, your habit set is how you normally act. In many cases, your habit is an almost automatic reaction to something you encounter. Habits can be positive such as giving yourself a positive affirmation before giving a speech. Habits can also be negative, for example, overeating when under stress. When confronted with any element of VUCA, all of us have habit sets that determine our reactions.
Section 2 of our book explores each of these factors in detail and provides practical tips on how to use these factors in VUCA situations.