Forget the Buzzwords: Embrace the Messiness of Being Human
If you believe the pundits, human beings are facing one of the most challenging moments in our collective history, and I’m not buying it!
They think that all of a sudden, we are living in a Volatile, Unstable, Complex and Ambiguous world. They even have an acronym for it. They call it a VUCA world. But it didn’t take long for them to get bored with that, so they doubled down with two Ds and said we are also Diverse and Dynamic, or VUCA(DD). Really? All of a sudden we are diverse and dynamic?? Bollocks!
Anyway, when all this happened you better believe that there was a collective squeal of delight from a whole generation of management consultants who frantically set to work coming up with another meaningless framework, which probably involved the gratuitous use of an iceberg and promises of solving the problems of complexity, complete with a whole swathe of copyrighted buzzwords and proprietary product to give you the golden goose of a high performing team. It almost seems like it was too good to be true!
I mean, who wouldn’t want to do more stuff, reach higher goals, and have more things, all while maintaining the holy grail of “work-life balance”, if there even is such a thing.
Then, get this, either they got bored with VUCA(DD) or decided that too many people were using it, so in order to have a competitive edge, they landed on a new and improved acronym. VUCA(DD) was cast aside, and thrown on the unfashionable discard pile of corporate jargon along with the other losers like “lean in”, “circle back”, “moving forward’ and “let’s take this offline”. Ooft…I think I just vomited in my mouth a little!
But I digress!
Apparently now we need to accept that we’re living in a BANI world - Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear and Incomprehensible! Incomprehensible! Can you believe it? I’m not sure if it's ironic, paradoxical, hypocritical, or just plain stupid!
I’ll tell you what’s incomprehensible, it's the idea that you can explain the complexity of human experience with a simple acronym so that you can then claim to manage and control it with a quadrant, a Miro board, a post-it note, or a “Free” masterclass (that is really just a gateway drug into their 12 week online “coaching community incubator hackathon thingy” with a subscription model and a substack).
Now, I acknowledge that the things we are experiencing right now are unique, unprecedented and confounding. I just reject the premise that this is the first time in human history that we are facing unique, unprecedented and confounding challenges.
And what’s more, the underlying narrative of VUCA and BANI feeds off our insecurities and fuels the perception that all of a sudden things are really hard, but that they were so much easier and simpler in the idealised and romanticised stability of days gone by.
They were doing the same bloody thing when modernity hit in the 17th century! Or to put it in a more recent context, VUCA was first coined in 1987 by Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus in a presentation to the US Army War College to describe the complexity of the contemporary battlespace. Yes, you heard correct. Nineteen-eighty-bloody-seven! Holy forking shirtballs! If there wasn’t a more stable or idealised time in my life, then I am a monkey’s uncle. But many people are still using VUCA to describe how messed up things are today.
So what’s to stop the peeps 30 years from now, using “BANI” to describe the complexity of their time and looking back on this moment with the same fondness and nostalgia for a simpler existence?
That’s right, nothin!
Nevertheless, one suggestion is that in order to combat the challenges of a VUCA or BANI world, we need to embrace the new 21st Century skills of “Collaboration, creativity, communication and critical thinking” so that we can be more agile, innovative, and adaptable.
But the reality is that we have always lived in a volatile, unstable, complex ambiguous, diverse, dynamic, brittle, anxious, non-linear and incomprehensible world, and to suggest otherwise is to ignore the philosophical and existential dilemmas of every generation and culture that I’ve had the privilege to learn about. Moreover, humans have been using those so-called “21st Century” skills since the dawn of time.
Being human is complex and messy and hard. Yet as a species, we have survived and thrived in the face of incredible challenges, thanks to our diversity and inherent tendency for creativity and collaboration.
When we pull our heads out of our proverbial arses and look at the long story of human survival over hundreds of thousands of years, it has always been one of variability, agility, adaptability, complexity, imagination, innovation, cooperation and communication. The “secret” to our survival is therefore not another buzzword from the eighties, or framework that we can purchase for a limited time only at early bird prices…our superpower is our humanity!
Anthropology is, quite literally, the study of our humanity, and gives us valuable tools to think with so that we can explore human differences and similarities, and the complexity of our experiences, in meaningful and productive ways.
In Anthropology, we see human creativity, diversity and cooperation as key features of human evolution. Basically, it is in the essentially human practices of storytelling, art, music play, conversation, and deep listening that we find the secret that enabled us to remain resilient, adapt to change and thrive as a species.
What I do know is that change is the only constant, and navigating the inevitable complexity of our existence in the face of constant change requires trust, openness, honesty, vulnerability and authenticity. What we don’t need is more simple solutions to complex problems.
What we do need, then, is more opportunities to connect as humans with each other and make sense of our complex experiences together. It is impossible to manage and control all the dynamic variables that make life so challenging. If we are going to navigate the inevitable complexity of our existence, then we can only really do this through a connected and inclusive culture where people feel safe to contribute and where they feel they belong so that we can collectively make sense of our next right steps together. It is culture that provides us with the necessary resources to keep our poop in a group in the face of those inevitable challenges and changes. And that is the story of being human. It has always been hard…it always will be, but culture helps us get through it.
But this doesn’t just happen. Contrary to what most people believe, culture does not emerge from mission, vision or values statements. It doesn't emerge from engagement surveys, measurements and rewards. It emerges from the words we use, the symbols and objects we have around us, our daily habits and rituals, the relationships we have and the ways we treat each other. We are always actively shaping culture through our interactions, it is not something we can set and forget.
The beauty of applying an Anthropological perspective to culture change is that it is not about ticking boxes or the top-down application of principles and processes. It employs a holistic approach that embraces diverse perspectives and ideas and listens to the people on the ground. It builds on a deep, intuitive understanding of what it means to be human.
Anthropology lets the world be as messy as it is. It sees the beauty in our imperfections and the value of human connection. It reminds us that if we are to get through this, we need to remember the importance of simply Being Human!
Here are a few texts that have helped us wrap our heads around the modern age:
Listen:
Gillian Tett on a New Way to Understand Business and Life
by The Intelligence Squad Podcast
Read:
The Art of Being Human
by Michael Wesch
Watch:
Navigating the Labyrinth of Perception: Wisdom, Language, and Post-Trauma Growth
by This Anthro Life
Would you like to know more about how we can support you and your colleagues to embrace the messiness of being human so you can create a psychologically safe workplace? Read more about the outcomes that our Being Human workshop will bring to your team.
Dr Monty Badami is an Anthropologist and the Founder of Habitus. He combines evolutionary evidence with cross-cultural research to demonstrate how our creativity, diversity and imperfection, is actually the secret to our adaptability and success as a species.
He has spent most of his research living with the Paniya, a marginalised indigenous group in India, who were slaves until recently. However, he now works closer to home, where he delivers transformative workshops that help people put more meaning and joy back into their lives.
Monty supports organisations to improve their performance and gain a competitive edge by embracing our humanity and nurturing collaborative and inclusive cultures.
He runs a series called “Brave Conversations”, where he uses his anthropological knowledge to talk about what it means to be human, as well as challenge the norms of toxic masculinity as well as other stereotypes of class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and race.