n the 1980s, the term VUCA was introduced by the US Army War College to describe the emerging nature of the modern world. Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous.
Post-pandemic, we’ve started hearing a new acronym, BANI. Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear and Incomprehensible.
At G2, we don’t mind whether you prefer VUCA, have graduated to BANI, or are waiting for the next acronym to land. What matters far more is how you respond.
Before VUCA entered the conversation, we largely saw the world through binaries. Controlled or uncontrollable. Order or disorder. Tidy or messy. The dominant leadership response was to build systems, structures and hierarchies designed to pull work from the “messy” end of the spectrum to the “orderly” end.
For a while, that approach worked.
Then the pace and complexity of change outgrew it.
When we realised those old models were no longer fit for purpose, we named the problem. We coined terms like VUCA. But what we largely failed to do was change our underlying approach.
We kept trying to fix.
We added more structure. More process. More governance. Even modern ways of working like Agile and Lean, which were originally designed to be flexible and adaptive, often became rigid. Formal ceremonies. Secret languages. Titles and designations that mattered more than outcomes. In many cases, we recreated control under a different banner.
So what’s the antidote to VUCA or BANI?
It’s not really an antidote at all. It’s a mindset. An emerging human capacity.
It’s less about what you do, and more about who you are being as a leader. This is because who you are being shapes how you design work, how you make decisions, and how you show up when things feel messy.
When the world is volatile, people don’t need more detail. They need direction. Vision and purpose. A high-level view and clear guardrails that help them make decisions without waiting for permission. Purpose doesn’t remove volatility, but it gives people something stable to anchor to.
When things feel uncertain, the instinct is often to retreat into control or silence. But uncertainty is met far more effectively with understanding and care. Naming what we know and what we don’t. Explaining the why behind decisions. Listening properly. Treating people like adults who can handle ambiguity when they feel respected and included.
Complexity doesn’t need cleverness for its own sake. It needs clarity and consistency. Fewer priorities. Clear roles. Simple decision rules. Follow-through. In complex systems, inconsistency creates enormous friction. Leaders who are steady and clear reduce cognitive load and make it easier for people to focus on what really matters.
And when things are ambiguous, waiting for perfect information is a trap. Ambiguity calls for agility and adaptability. Testing, learning, adjusting. Letting go of the need to be right first time and building the muscle of learning together. This only works when people feel safe to experiment without fear of blame.
Seen this way, VUCA or BANI isn’t something to be solved.
It’s a condition to be lived with.
The organisations that are thriving aren’t the ones with the most sophisticated systems. They’re the ones investing in human leadership capacity. Capacity for sense-making. For care. For clarity. For learning.
It starts with who leaders are being.
From there, everything else follows.