By Celeste Brantolino
Senior Director, Learning & Development — Exela Pharma Sciences
If you’ve ever worked in Learning & Development during a company restructuring, you know the feeling. One day, I’m mapping out leadership programs for the year. The next, I’m sitting in a meeting where roles are being redefined, reporting lines are shifting, and no one can clearly articulate what the organization will look like in six months.
This is VUCA in real life.
Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity stop being abstract concepts at the moment restructuring begins. They show up in hallway conversations. They surface in leaders asking for answers I don’t yet have. They stare back at me from an L&D roadmap that suddenly feels outdated.
I’ve lived this more than once. And what I’ve learned is this: in moments like these, L&D doesn’t need to have all the answers. What it does need is the ability to help the organization learn its way forward.
When the Ground Is Shifting
During every restructuring I support, the business moves fast—often faster than traditional L&D processes can keep up with. New operating models are discussed while old ones are still technically in place. Leaders are expected to guide their teams through change while managing their own uncertainty. Employees worry about their roles, their futures, and whether they still belong.
In L&D, the instinct is often to pause.
“Let’s wait until things stabilize,” we tell ourselves. “Let’s get clearer on the direction before we act.”
Those words feel comforting. They create the illusion of breathing room.
But they’re a trap.
In a VUCA environment, waiting for clarity often means missing the moment when learning is needed most.
Shifting from Perfect Programs to Practical Support
Instead of rolling out polished, long-term programs, I shift the approach. I focus on what the business needs right now.
For leaders, that means short, practical learning experiences centered on:
- Communicating through uncertainty (here’s a reality leaders quickly learn: most of the time, the executive team hasn’t figured everything out before action needs to begin)
- Making decisions with incomplete information (or rapidly changing information—what was true on Monday may not be relevant by Thursday)
- Leading teams through change without burning them out (or demoralizing them to the point where they just check out/shutdown due to being overwhelmed)
These are not theoretical sessions. I ground them in real scenarios leaders are facing this week—or this month. I create space for discussion, peer learning, and reflection. The goal is never for leaders to walk away with a binder. The goal is to equip them with language, tools, and confidence they can use immediately with their teams.
For employees, I focus their learning on adaptability and resilience. Microlearning, manager-led conversations, and just-in-time resources replace traditional courses. Learning moves closer to the flow of work—because that’s where people are struggling. It provides clarity and focus at the most needed point.
I can’t completely eliminate ambiguity. But I can help people function successfully despite it.
Supporting Leaders Who Are “In It” Too
Despite the rise of AI, leaders are still human. And during a restructuring, they are not just change agents—they are change recipients. This dual role needs extra support to be successful.
I see L&D become a critical sounding board during these moments. Coaching, mentoring, and facilitated peer forums matter just as much as formal training. I work to create a culture where leaders have a safe place to say, “I don’t know,” without fear.
That space allows leaders to make sense of complexity, process ambiguity, and better understand how their decisions ripple across the organization.
By helping leaders build emotional intelligence, systems thinking, and learning agility, L&D enables them to show up more grounded—even when the organization feels anything but stable.
Learning as a Stabilizing Force
What surprises many organizations is how quickly L&D becomes a source of stability.
When everything else feels in flux, consistent communication, accessible learning, and visible L&D support send a powerful message: we are navigating this together. People rarely expect perfection—but they do expect presence.
I rely heavily on continuous feedback loops. What is landing? What’s not? What do people need this week? L&D cannot be a static function in times like these. It must operate as a living, responsive part of the organization.
What VUCA Teaches Me About L&D’s True Role
Restructuring strips away the illusion that learning is about content. In reality, learning is about capability, confidence, and connection.
VUCA teaches me that L&D’s greatest value isn’t predicting the future—its helping people adapt to whatever future arrives. When L&D embraces agility, listens deeply, and stays close to the business, it becomes a strategic partner in the truest sense.
In times of volatility and uncertainty, learning doesn’t slow down. It speeds up. It gets simpler, more human, and more relevant.
And when the restructuring dust finally settles, organizations often realize something important: the capabilities built during the chaos are the ones that carry them forward. That is the quiet power of L&D in a VUCA world—and it’s never more visible than when everything is changing at once.
About the Author
Celeste Brantolino is a strategic Learning & Development leader with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations navigate volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. As Senior Director of Learning & Development at Exela Pharma Sciences, she leads enterprise learning strategy, leadership development, and technical training within a highly regulated manufacturing environment, ensuring workforce capability keeps pace with rapid business change.
Throughout her career, Celeste has partnered with world-class organizations—including Schneider Electric, Walt Disney World, Vertiv, Tyson Foods, RTI International, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Sodexo-Marriott—to design agile, results-driven learning solutions aligned to evolving organizational needs. At Exela, she applies the DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) methodology to proactively map critical skills and competencies, reducing time to competency by up to 60% while building a more adaptable, future-ready workforce.
Celeste brings a practitioner’s perspective to leading through VUCA, blending strategic foresight with practical execution to help leaders and teams learn, pivot, and perform amid constant change.