Beyond VUCA & BANI there lies the Necessity for Future-fit Leadership

This is the Foreword to my latest book Keys for Future-fit Leadership. This Foreword is written by Andrew Dyckhoff, Founder & CEO of Strengths Unleashed

“Giles and I first met, many years ago, on a retreat with the theme ‘business and nature’. His speaker input opened my eyes to the possibility of a new way of seeing the world and thinking about leadership. Since then, we’ve become friends and colleagues aligned in the pursuit of a better way to do business.

After the retreat I met with Giles to explore our worlds and build friendship. He took me into nature on a balmy summer’s day to visit ancient trees and walk across sunny grassland. I shared about the work I do as mentor to support senior leaders in coping with their day-to-day pressures and stresses. Then out of the blue Giles said to me: ‘Might what you do simply reinforce the behaviors that are contributing to the destruction of our world?’

Stunned into silence (a rare event) I scrambled mentally to pick myself up from the proverbial floor and knew in that moment that he was right. As leaders and as the mentors of leaders we have a responsibility to find another way.

My ‘upbringing’ as a leader was pretty conventional. Chartered accountant, Finance Director (ten years) and onward to CEO of several organizations. In Myers Briggs terms I showed up as a full on ‘ENTJ’, driven to succeed and focused on financial performance.

The first inkling that there is more to business and leadership came when Dame Carol Black said to me: ‘You do realize that, as a CEO you can do more for the health and well-being of your employees than I can as a clinician.’ This inspired me to up my own game as a leader and led to our current work helping leaders be successful and lead fulfilling lives.

It was Giles’ intervention, though, that created a transformational shift in my focus, from individual performance to Future-fit Leadership, where leaders learn to ‘thrive amid complexity’ by drawing on insight from living-systems. Businesses and the people that lead them have power, capacity and resources to make a meaningful positive difference to the future of our world. This will only become reality if we understand how to make this happen.

And the world is increasingly complex. Working with the leaders of organizations across the world in a wide range of sectors I see this play out. This is not just a ‘VUCA’ world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) it’s become a ‘BANI’ world (Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible). Leaders and their organizations are having to continually reinvent themselves in the face of this onslaught.

The pressure is relentless. The challenges we have to deal with are mostly showing up as ‘wicked problems.’ Unlike ‘tame problems’ that can be taken off-line, dealt with and then forgotten about, wicked problems won’t go away, their timing and appearance is not of our choosing and causes/symptoms not obviously connected. Data’s limited, ambiguous or contradictory, there are many variables and stakeholders and critical interdependencies not obvious until they are broken. If we are to survive and thrive in this new reality, we urgently need a new way of thinking and acting.

Giles lives and works out of Springwood, a magical piece of woodland, part ancient, part Victorian and under his thoughtful custodianship, a place where transformation happens. When we started Strengths Unleashed, it was a natural next step to gather at Springwood. We launched in Autumn 2019 and like so many, had to immediately reinvent ourselves for a Covid and post-Covid world. It was only in the October that we were able to gather. We entered the woods as a disparate group of well-meaning individuals drawn together by our desire to make a difference in the world. We emerged with a deep sense of connection and community, which has underpinned our work ever since.

As a mentor I have come to appreciate the value in the discipline of reflection. In seeking to ‘practice what we preach’, Giles and I meet up every few months to walk and reflect together. For someone whose business is about facilitating insight and transformation in others, I am always conscious that I am a ‘terrible client.’ However, Giles is a supreme master in holding space. Wearing all of his wisdom and experience lightly, he listens and nudges, creating the ‘clearing’ from which powerful insight and understanding emerge.

The note from a longstanding CEO client of mine who recently came to one of Giles’ Leadership Immersion days speaks to the impact: ‘I wanted to thank you for an inspiring and transformative day in the woods. I got so much out of it and so much food for thought.’

When I first started to engage with Giles’ thought leadership it was as if all my favorite authors were mentioned (Graves, Laloux and Scharmer to mention but three). What stands out is the way in which he is able to synthesize this great thinking and turn it from disparate attractive theories into a cohesive and compelling framework. Continually evolving his thinking, Giles’ life and work is like a dance where theory is partnered with experience, and the constantly evolving context, leading to ever deeper insight.

And then most important of all. Giles has taken this insight and made it actionable. Keys for Future-fit Leadership is aimed at helping business leaders and practitioners like us. It creates a felt-sense of clarity and simplicity, beyond complexity and inspires the confidence to start (or continue) along this much needed path. Think Big, Act Small, Start Now!”

HOT OFF THE PRESS – latest book: Keys for Future-fit Leadership

‘Keys for Future-fit Leadership is nothing short of revolutionary—a compass for our times, providing the formula humanity urgently needs to navigate the seismic shifts we face.’   Marc Buckley, Founder ALOHAS Regenerative Foundation

‘Giles doesn’t just share his wisdom with the invigorating charm of a natural breeze—he embodies nature itself. He reminds us of our deep connection to the natural world, a bond we’ve neglected to our own detriment. Knowing Giles is like rediscovering the path back to nature.’  Lucy Cleland, Editorial Director, Country & Town House

Keys for Future-fit leadership can be found through major book channels or purchased directly from the sustainable/ethical publisher here: https://www.wordzworth.com/sales/authorbooks?ISBN=9781783243532

Next Deep-dive Immersion on Future Fit leadership is 8^th/9^th September – see more details here: https://thenatureofbusiness.org/2025/04/15/keys-for-future-fit-leadership-8th-9th-sept-immersion/

‘The nature immersion with Giles exceeded all expectations.  This is real space to develop strategies fit for the 21st century.’ – Stephen Passmore, CEO, Resilience Alliance

This two-day overnight deep-dive is for leaders and practitioners who wish to gain an embodied experience of Future-fit Leadership and also apply tools for activating Regenerative Leadership Consciousness in their own work and lives. The immersion will provide advanced techniques and frameworks for your own work as a leader and for practitioners/coaches working with clients/leaders and Future-fit L&OD (leadership & organizational development).

‘Feel I’ve been with a real master. What beautiful profound lessons’. – Simon Milton, CEO of Pulse Brands

For more details see: https://thenatureofbusiness.org/2025/04/15/keys-for-future-fit-leadership-8th-9th-sept-immersion/

‘Giles is a visionary and guide for anyone exploring the journey toward Future-fit/Regenerative Business. He’s been called a wise medicine man for our time and a magician of consciousness. When you are with Giles you get why these words are apt.’  Jannine Barron, Founder of The Growth Experience

To book for 8^th/9^th September Immersion or explore 121 Coaching with Giles contact him via his website https://gileshutchins.com/

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