VUCA World & Its Impact-Exclusive Interview with Dr. Toyoda San

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
-Charles Darwin

In this exclusive interview with Learn Transformation, Dr. Toyoda San shared his views on VUCA Leadership, service Transformation. And 5 leadership qualities for it, along with its 5 examples. In this article, as a reader, you can explore your area of knowledge. And it can be a guide for you to commence your leadership journey in vuca world.

LT Network- Can you please provide a short explanation about the meaning of VUCA world?

Dr. Toyoda San– I’m lucky to be here on this platform and share my views and opinions on the given topic. My opinion about VUCA is that it is one way to describe today’s business environment. It is a new type of environment that helps organizations to run smoothly by conquering all the obstacles in their path. V in VUCA stands for “Volatility”, which is the quality of being subject to frequent, rapid, and significant change.

Uncertainty is a component of that situation, in which events and outcomes are unpredictable. Complexity involves a multiplicity of issues and factors, some of which may intricately interconnect each other. Ambiguity is manifested in a lack of clarity and the difficulty of understanding exactly what the situation is.

LT Network- Now that our readers know the meaning of the term VUCA. Can you further provide your views on what is Service Transformation?

Dr. Toyoda San – As per my observation, I believe that the services of any organization have the capable potential to improve the relationship shared between the organization and its customers. Service Transformation involves making some fundamental changes in how an organization operates. Hence, Service Transformation is how the services of an organization are transformed to benefit the employees as well as the organization. While they undergo some major shifts. If it is applied efficiently with all the right tools and techniques, then ensure the long-term success of the organization.

LT Network–According to you what are the 5 leadership qualities to have successful service transformation in VUCA World?

Dr. Toyoda San – In my opinion, the 1st quality among the 5 top qualities that a Leader should have to lead in a VUCA world is confidence. I believe that confidence is the ultimate key to success, and I have experienced this for myself. Having confidence is very important for a leader. As it shows his ability to assess risky situations and make quick decisions based on incomplete information.

The second important quality is ingenious. It means being able to find new creative ways for sudden decision-making in VUCA Leadership. Setting an inventive vision and communicating it thoroughly helps your team members to understand everything. Thus, they work with full efficacy and as a leader, you can rely on them as they do the same with you.

The third quality is to be flexible. As I’ve discussed earlier, a leader should be flexible to adapt to constant changes. VUCA environment requires the leader to not get stuck in mere one way. And be agile as new information is obtained and decisions are made according to it.

Next, the leader Transformation should be able to facilitate teamwork. While you’re leading through an ambiguous environment. You should also focus on enabling your team members to work in a cooperative atmosphere. You should know that true collaboration among team members is the key to achieving service transformation.

The last quality is to be exuberant. In my judgment, a leader can never lead his team properly if he does not have a vibrant aura around him. Being exuberant means that the leader should be filled with vibrant and active energy. Along with a great feeling of passion and optimism to commit the team members to every task and put their best efforts on display.

LT Network–Thank you for enlightening our readers with the importance of 5 leadership qualities. Can you provide examples of a services company that may encourage our readers?

Check out the Video:

Dr. Toyoda San According to me and the situations I’ve analyzed by myself, the first example among 5 best services companies that are demonstrating successful VUCA transformation is Adobe. Adobe has successfully moved beyond the core in adapting creative and document software for having a better digital experience and providing marketing platforms and analytics.

The 2nd example is Amazon. You might be aware of the name of this big brand. Amazon launched  “Amazon Web Services” (Cloud) so they could overcome the cost of infrastructure that was required to conduct certain operations. The next example is Microsoft. Microsoft transformed itself from a business model that was primarily based on selling products, devices, and licenses to become a service transformation business based on the cloud platform. 

Cisco, the 4th example has transformed its business from selling products and services of networking to being a solution provider of digital Information Technology along with moving to adjacencies. The last such company is Dell. Dell shifted from being a hardware company to a cloud-based business that integrated EMC’s storage management.

Also See: What exactly is Digital Transformation in 21st Century?

LT Network- Dear Dr. Toyoda San, thank you so much for taking out your precious time and notifying our readers about some trending topics in the business world. We thank you for providing your valuable knowledge and enhance our reader’s awareness about these topics.

FAQs

Key Takeaways

• To effectively address the world’s volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, service transformation is crucial.
• Using technology and data-driven insights, organisations must anticipate and quickly adjust to client needs.
• In a VUCA world, prioritize collaboration and provide staff members the freedom to decide for themselves and find solutions.