Nurturing the right skills in a changing world
Back in 2014, an article in Harvard Business Review talked about a new acronym, VUCA, for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. The authors suggested that it had become a ‘catch-all’ for ‘things are changing so fast that there’s really nothing we can do about them’. They argued, however, that this was not true: there was actually plenty that could be done to mitigate the risks of a rapidly-changing environment.
Managing change and complexity
For example, to manage complexity, you can bring in or train up experts in local conditions to ensure that you have sufficient knowledge. To address volatility and, to a certain extent, uncertainty, you can build slack into your system. This can be expensive, so should match the level of risk. Similarly, you can manage ambiguity and uncertainty by gathering as much information as possible, experimenting with different scenarios, and then planning for each.
Looking back, 2014 looks like an oasis of calm compared with the last couple of years. We have faced unprecedented volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity since 2019. Analytical models have been difficult to use, because we simply don’t have the data to predict what might happen next. We can see a lot of possible scenarios, but have little information about which ones might happen.
This kind of situation requires a different kind of leadership and skills development. ‘Managing’ is not enough. You need people with the skills to move forwards despite uncertainty, and that means a different approach to skills development. Hard skills such as knowledge management and computing skills are still important—but soft skills have become far more crucial.
Unfolding the tetrahedron of abilities:
I find one of the best ways to consider soft skills is to use a ‘tetrahedron of ability’. This describes four dimensions of soft skills, each dimension interfacing with the other three in a tetrahedric-fashion. We can visualize the business impact of these as a four-quadrant matrix, plotting a focus on process (from discrete to continuous) against focus on people (from technical to managerial).
Business Impact of the tetrahedron of abilities:
In the top-left corner, with continuous process and a focus on technical rather than managerial skills, you have an emphasis on IQ, or Intelligence Quotient. This is about discovering and exploring the world, to find and develop new ideas. At the bottom-left, with a similar focus on technical skills, but more discrete process focus, emphasis is on XQ or eXecution Quotient, the ability to get things done. This is a very transactional area, all about performance.
Moving towards a more people-focused approach, the next quadrant emphasizes a requirement for EQ, or Emotional Quotient in the bottom-right, with the more discrete process focus. This is about the ability to understand, it is often linked to the concept of emotional intelligence. We can think of this area as being about operational leadership. Finally, in the top-right, with a continuous process focus, combined with a strong people focus, is AQ or Adaptability Quotient. This is where the main strategic skills sit most happily, including many of the traditional ‘leadership’ skills.
What is crucial is that you need a balance between the four areas. We can describe them as a matrix, but I prefer the tetrahedron analogy because that makes clear that these are four faces, all of which are equally important.
Skills development using the tetrahedron
Having unpacked the tetrahedron, the next step is to ask what this means. I think it is most useful when considered as a basis for personal development topics. For example, to improve your skills in the EQ (Understanding) area, you might focus on storytelling, personal mastery, and developing your ability to have critical and difficult conversations. For the IQ (Discovering) area, you are likely to want to develop critical thinking, information design and systems thinking. For AQ (Leading), you might consider working on negotiation skills, increasing diversity, and situational leadership. Finally, for XQ (Performing), you will be considering skills such as project management, virtual engagement and improving productivity.
Is this a tool for managers or individuals? I think probably both. As a manager, you want people who know what they want to achieve, and are prepared to ‘own their future’. However, it is also helpful to have a tool to target development in areas that will work for the organisation too. In turn, individuals are prepared to acquire new skills to support the organisation, but generally want to be sure that those skills will be transferable. This is true of all these areas.
Using the tetrahedron of ability therefore creates a win–win situation: a more structured view of personal development that works for everyone.
