The “Three Point Revolution” completely changed the game of basketball. The size of the court effectively doubled with no more players to cover it. And every existing playbook became obsolete. The same thing has happened to the environment in which your organization operates. And far too many playbooks have not changed at all.

I coach senior executives. Those coaching sessions always address significant challenges faced by the executive and the organizations they lead. And I see more than merely common threads—I see repeating and high-risk patterns. Those include anxiety about the performance of their organizations, frustration with the lack of engagement from staff, and awareness that past leadership skills and approaches are no longer effective.

We live in extremely challenging times. The military developed an acronym to describe this environment: V (volatile), U (uncertain), C (complex), A (ambiguous). VUCA. It sounds tough and ugly. And it is.