What Is an Aptitude Test for the New Era?

This column explores “What is an Aptitude Test for the New Era?”.
The new era is known as the VUCA era — an acronym for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.
We now live and work in a VUCA world, especially in business environments undergoing rapid and dramatic change.
Unlike the past, where long-term “static strategies” could suffice, today’s reality requires flexible “dynamic strategies” that can quickly shift direction as situations evolve. The capabilities required of organizations have also changed significantly.
For example, building teams that embrace members with diverse values and backgrounds,
exercising leadership that fosters openness to all voices (Inclusive Leadership),
and creating psychologically safe workplaces where people can speak up and take risks
— along with Creativity that generates new value and the power to drive change — have become essential.

Furthermore, “unexpected” events that no one could have predicted now occur frequently, and past success stories often become obstacles. In other words, there are more and more situations where traditional approaches no longer work.
It may be difficult to summarize the VUCA era in one phrase, but it is undoubtedly a “complex and diverse era.” Moreover, we have clearly shifted from an age of individual performance to one of team-based achievement.

Reference link: Wikipedia: VUCA

The Bible includes the following words:
“Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out, and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

This is a well-known parable. In modern business and organizational theory, it is often quoted in American seminars and meetings as a metaphor.
For instance: “New human resource strategies require new systems,” “The new era demands new forms of leadership — old-generation leadership no longer works,” or “In the age of diversity, old aptitude tests no longer function.”
The pace of change in our times is faster than we imagine, and people’s ability to adapt often cannot keep up. Furthermore, both the speed and scope of these changes continue to expand.

Because we have entered an era where results are produced by teams rather than individuals, diagnostic assessments now need to be designed for both “individual use” and “team use” (for managers and members).