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26 August 2020 | Story Nitha Ramnath | Photo Supplied

A VUCA environment reflects a state of the external world, or external to the leader, community, or nation, as much as it seems to reflect an internal frame of mind. The constant pressure to lead, while being uncertain about the outcomes of your decisions and even fearful of not being in control all the time, are some of the hallmarks of a VUCA world. A good way of thinking about this concept is to view it as the ‘new narrative’ – the volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity inherent in today’s world.

Leaders in the 21st century need to steer a country securely through unparalleled, challenging, and stormy circumstances such as food insecurity, political unrest, migration and refugee issues, unemployment, divided societies and prejudice, global warming, and others. Against this introduction, it unfortunately appears as if there is an increase in VUCA problems in the 21st century, and leaders often fail in their attempts to provide solutions to these demanding circumstances. Indeed, it appears as if leaders in the 21st century are actually contributing to VUCA environments. So-called ‘state capture’ and the ‘gangster state’ in South Africa, ‘make America great again’ and ‘America first’ , the Brexit no-deal option, ‘trade wars’, and ‘the deadly coronavirus’ are examples of when leaders did not appear to solve challenges, but rather to intensify them. 

This is the backdrop against which the book, Chaos is a Gift? Leading Oneself in Uncertain and Complex Environments, has been conceptualised – indeed to debate the opportunities that exist amid this chaos. 

Three UFS women academics contributed to this book.

Dr Martha Harunavamwe (Department of Industrial Psychology) has written a chapter on resilience and agility in Zimbabwean higher education.Dr Mareve Biljohn (Department of Public Administration and Management) has written a chapter on leading the self in South Africa’s VUCA local government environments. Prof Liezel Lues (Department of Public Administration and Management) has written a chapter on South Africa’s surviving VUCA environment. She is also one of the editors of the book.

The endorsement written by Prof Petersen, reads: There are various books on leadership, but this book, in navigating today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environment, presents chaos as both an opportunity and possibility in developing ‘selfcare practices’ in leading oneself. Leaders must have the cognitive flexibility to adapt to the unknown in the midst of chaos (and a crisis). Through making sense of leadership approaches in different environments, including the business, private, academic and public sectors, as well as in conflict/post-conflict situations, the book provides a deep insight into leading oneself effectively with innovation and empathy in a VUCA environment – an excellent contribution to self-leadership. (Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor: Top Management, University of the Free State)

The book, published by KR Publishers, will be launched on 27 August 2020. Prof Ebben van Zyl, together with Prof Lues, are the editors of this book: Van Zyl, E, Campbell, A and Lues, L. ed. Chaos is a Gift? Leading Oneself in Uncertain and Complex Environments. Randburg: KR Publishing. ISBN: 978-1-86922-860-6

News Archive

US professor makes the case for public scholarship
2011-08-17

 

The Eatman family from the left: Jasmin Eatman, Prof. Timothy Eatman and Mrs. Lorraine Eatman

The university of the 21st century should not be an ivory tower; rather it should work with communities to co-create things of public value. This was one of the observations made by visiting US Prof. Timothy Eatman. He delivered a public lecture on the topic Public Scholarship and the democratisation of knowledge in the engaged university at the University of the Free State (UFS) on Monday, 15 August 2011. Prof. Eatman challenged people at the lecture to think about richer ways of thinking about engaged public scholarship and said they need to prepare for a new citizenry of academia.

Prof. Eatman, an assistant professor of Higher Education at Syracuse University in the United States, said that knowledge was revealed in diverse ways and advised institutions of higher education to demonstrate an increasing sensitivity to issues of relevance to public good. Prof. Eatman said the present era calls for the development of a more sophisticated understanding of knowledge creation.

Prof. Eatman, who is visiting our country for the first time, brought along his mother, Lorraine, and daughter, Jasmin, who performed a contemporary dance during the event. The family had been in Bloemfontein for the past week or so and Eatman expressed his gratitude to staff and people of Bloemfontein, saying he can deliver personal testimony to the beauty of the Free State.
 

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