How to Handle Ambiguity in the Workplace

The workplace — and the world —  is full of ambiguity and uncertainty. Managing the unknown while moving forward is a challenge every leader must tackle. It can be tempting to put off completing a task or working toward a goal because you don’t have all of the information you’d like, but if you do, you won’t get very far. Successful leaders know they need to keep moving to achieve their goals and that requires getting comfortable operating with uncertainty.This expert advice can help you learn how to handle ambiguity in the workplace and become a more effective, productive leader.Why Embracing Uncertainty Is Critical to Your Success. Forbes: “Throughout our careers and lives we must continually assess whether we are letting our fear of the unknown keep us from taking the actions to move us forward. If you’re not sure whether it is, then ask yourself what you would do if you weren’t afraid of failing. The first answer that pops into your head will point you in a direction you need to go, albeit an uncertain one. Of course, being willing to take a risk and step into unknown territory doesn’t mean everything you try will work out.  But as every successful person will tell you, it’s only by being willing to risk ‘miss-steps’ (from which the word mistakes derives) and try something new that you can ever accomplish more than what’s been done before. To quote John F. Kennedy: ‘Nothing worthwhile has ever been accomplished with a guarantee of success.’”3 Lessons IBM’s Watson Can Teach Us About Our Brains’ Biases. Fast Company: “In the absence of information, we tend to avoid choosing options we don't know enough about or don't feel fully confident in. Behavioral scientists call this the ‘ambiguity effect’—a cognitive bias in which your decision-making is impaired by a lack of information, says Abrams. Take, for example, the choice by some investors to put their money in a less risky fixed yield instrument rather than opting for a more volatile investment like stocks and funds that have less predictable results, but offer higher returns over time. ‘There are people for whom that unknown factors into the equation more than it should,’ says Abrams. Recognizing those biases and seeking out information in the face of doubt can help counter that ambiguity effect from preventing you to make the best and most informed decision.”Simple Steps To Embrace Ambiguity & Lead Significant Change. Lead Change Group: “The new world of big data and analytics, coupled with rapidly changing times, can cause the best leaders to the feel there’s never enough data or that there is another big event looming on the horizon to put a halt on important change initiatives. The thinking of ‘never enough information’ causes us to believe our situation is full of ambiguity and stress, thus resulting in delayed decisions and project plans….Leaders should focus now on coaching their teams to take action on the best information they have available, for the event of having perfect data to make decisions will never occur. This approach will help eliminate perfectionism. Leaders can reduce chaos and improve accountability by quickly establishing and coaching to key success metrics, resulting in improved self-esteem and confidence for future tasks.”New Study Highlights How Perfectionist Drive is Leading to Burnout. Business Matters: “In such an environment, where poor performance carries significant costs, perfectionist tendencies are often exacerbated, which not only leads to increased stress for individuals but in fact poorer performance and a lack of innovation for organisations. Dr Andrew Hill, Associate Professor and Head of Taught Postgraduate Programmes at York St John University, who was lead-author of the review and whose work focusses on the effects of perfectionism in achievement contexts believes perfectionism can be difficult to manage in the workplace. ‘Too often people confuse perfectionism with more desirable features such as being conscientious. Rather than being more productive, perfectionists are likely to find the workplace quite difficult and stressful. Our research suggests that if perfectionists are unable to cope with demands and uncertainty in the workplace, they will experience a range of emotional difficulties.’”Can You Make Good Decisions in an Uncertain Environment? FurleyDigital: “Uncertainty and ambiguity is a fact of life in the complex and ever-changing IT industry. You never know what is going to happen next. Even when something does happen it is often difficult to understand what it means. It is also common for vendors to use ‘FUD’ (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt) as a sales tactic. This can frighten customers away from viable alternatives. In such an environment you can’t always know if decision is a good one. Instead the challenge for IT leaders in organisations is not to make bad decisions. They need to navigate this sea of ambiguity and end up in a better place than they were before. To succeed IT Leaders must be across all matters involving IT, which is pretty much every business activity these days. And they need to have a clear idea of what is important, which requires a deep understanding of the business. On top of this IT leaders must be crystal clear on the value proposition their team offers, and be able to articulate it to the rest of their organisation.”Need help teaching your company’s leaders how to handle ambiguity? Contact us for information on leadership development and coaching.Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.