In the last 4 or 5 years, I have felt that I have taken an intensive master’s degree in chaos, complexity and uncertainty. It was not an academic training. It was a living, real and profoundly transformative experience. And as often happens with the most important learnings, it was accompanied by professional and personal challenges that invited me to question everything.
Today I want to share some of the findings that this process left me, in case they can be useful for other leaders who also face chaos, inside or outside their organizations.
Chaos as a mirror
For a long time, I thought that chaos was an obstacle that I had to overcome as quickly as possible. An anomaly in the system. Something uncomfortable that had to be corrected. But over time I discovered that chaos is also a master.
Chaos is uncomfortable, yes. But it also illuminates. It forces us to stop and observe. It confronts us with our expectations, with our most deeply rooted beliefs, with our deepest urgencies.
Leadership under pressure
I am a person of high expectations. I’ve always believed that if I have the ability to trade at level 10, there’s no reason to stay at level 8. But I’ve also learned that it’s not all about scaling. Sometimes, the path is not upwards, but inwards.
When chaos appears, it is often because something needs to be rethought. And that requires more than quick answers: it requires awareness, pause, and the ability to review our proportions. Am I magnifying this problem? Am I minimizing an important emotion? Am I confusing clarity with haste?
The temptation of clarity at any price
We all want to return to clarity as soon as possible. But if we do it too quickly, without reviewing what’s underneath the noise, we’re likely to miss a crucial opportunity: that of growing from within.
An invitation to leaders
I have partnered leaders through change processes who, in contexts of chaos and complexity, have taught me to maintain my composure and the stance of observing before acting. And I am convinced that chaos is not the end of the road, but rather a necessary phase of development and a moment to envision new paths. It is an opportunity to reassess beliefs, redirect priorities, and expand our understanding of success.
If you find yourself in a moment of chaos, don’t run into clarity without first stopping to listen to what that chaos wants to show you. There, right in the clutter, may be the key to the next level of your leadership.
AUTHOR: María Luisa Velasco