Learning to lead in a volatile and uncertain world: making experience really matter

Purpose – Volatility and uncertainty are earmarks of the environment facing leaders and organizations today. This article seeks to assert that new mindsets and capabilities are required for leaders to capitalize on the risks and opportunities confronting them. The authors aim to provide a reminder that a leader's experience presents the greatest source of developmental opportunity, but that this is largely an untapped resource. To leverage this resource, a disciplined, deliberate and systematic process for learning from experience is proposed. Design/methodology/approach – Based on years of experience in developing leaders and seminal research on learning from experience, the authors argue for a complete reframing of the way people think of leadership and develop leaders rather than continuing to make the existing approach somewhat better. Findings – This article lays out four pivotal capabilities (vigilance, pattern recognition, mental rehearsal, and response readiness) leaders must use to be effective in this new environment and a three‐stage process for doing so. The tools used in each stage are discussed and examples provided. Originality/value – This paper shows organizations how to ready leaders for a world that has changed. It makes practical a well‐understood adage in leader development (namely that experience is the greatest source for development by far) but one most leaders and organizations have failed to leverage effectively.