Experience as a Superpower in a VUCA World
Recently, Annette Magnusson, HR Director at Citymail Sweden, shared an inspiring reflection on LinkedIn about age and experience. Her words resonated with me, because they touch on a theme that often remains overlooked in organizations: the power of experience in a rapidly changing world.
Annette described how, at different ages, people told her different things: too young, too busy with other priorities, too late, or too old. Yet she discovered that true strength doesn’t lie in age itself, but in the experience and perspectives that grow over the years.
And that is exactly what we need in a VUCA world.
VUCA demands experience
VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity – concepts that define today’s work environment. Organizations are looking for leaders and employees who cannot only cope with change, but also give it direction.
In this context, experience is not baggage – it’s a superpower.
- Volatility: When everything changes faster than ever, experience provides reference points. Those who have lived through crises, reorganizations, or market disruptions have a broader mental toolkit.
- Uncertainty: Uncertainty requires courage and confidence. These qualities grow by having endured situations where the outcome was unclear.
- Complexity: Complexity can be paralyzing, unless you have the experience to untangle patterns and recognize connections.
- Ambiguity: Ambiguity calls for tolerating multiple truths at once. People with life and work experience can put things in perspective and create clarity.
The value of the “experienced generation”
Too often, the focus is on youth and speed, while experience is seen as slow or outdated. But in reality, experienced professionals are often the stabilizing factor in a VUCA environment:
- They make sharper decisions, precisely because they know what can go wrong.
- They bring focus in a world full of noise and distraction.
- They no longer wait for permission, but take ownership.
As Annette writes: “Our best time is now.”
A call to leaders
As leaders, we have the responsibility not only to acknowledge experience but also to make deliberate use of it. That means:
- Build teams where generations complement each other.
- See experience not as an endpoint, but as a source of innovation and resilience.
- Provide senior professionals with space to act as mentors and strategic thinkers.
In a VUCA world, the power of experience may well be the difference between surviving and thriving.
What do you think? How are organizations today leveraging the power of experience in a world full of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity?
