One of my mentors and idols in the leadership space once said that the practice of leadership is about tolerating holding multiple interpretations simultaneously and sitting with ambiguity.
In other words, get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Get used to uncertainty, as you will have to tolerate that feeling for a period of time (sometimes longer than we expect) before true progress is made on the challenge.
Gone are the days where we look to leaders to solve our problems for us, and have all the answers... although I challenge that this was ever true in the first place. Good leadership was never about passing responsibility to the person in charge for wisdom and direction - it was (and very much is) about inspiring others to take on our toughest and most important challenges.
Why should you build a high tolerance for uncertainty? Here are a few reasons why:
Leadership requires conflict to make progress. We need healthy conflict when we are leading. How else can we make progress without addressing what we are dissatisfied with? How else can we identify the challenges without asking what everyone's part of the mess is (including the system as a whole within organizations). Conflict lends itself to be naturally uncertain - how will manager Jimmy react to the interpretations of the challenge? How might CEO Sally react when the system's part of the mess is named? It's uncomfortable to have conflict- but it is necessary to tolerate this feeling in order to make real progress
We do not know all the answers. Those who have authority roles tend to be seen as the "problem solvers" in organizations. But a leadership challenge is not something authority or expertise alone can fix. Solving challenges like workforce diversification, stifled innovation, company culture shifts, etc - all require learning over expertise to solve. One has to learn about the challenges. One has to also recruit others to do the same as well. Therefore, the ambiguity of not knowing how to get to our aspired result will require more of a built-up tolerance for being uncomfortable.
We need to hold multiple interpretations at the same time. In other words, being a leader requires holding different viewpoints at the same time. Maybe the slumping sales is due to poor employee engagement. Maybe it is due to lack of autonomy, or perhaps it is due to a culture issue within the organization. Sometimes these interpretations conflict with each other - which makes holding multiple interpretations even more difficult! But without holding multiple interpretations at once, we risk going too deep down the rabbit hole with our first interpretation and failing. The goal should be having multiple interpretations and small investments in experimentation on the solution. For example, you can invest time on one team's employees to see where the lack of enagagement stems from. Maybe you invest in giving one team autonomy to handle tougher challenges with more financial implications. Whatever the example might be, it would not have happened had you and others not done the hard work of holding space for multiple interpretations.
We will fail at some point. Failure is part of the process. Some interpretations will be wrong. Some experiments will fail; but building the tolerance for uncertainty behind failure will give you a competitive advantage by seeing the bigger picture. Failure can be reframed as data for the next set of interpretations, or how to execute the next round of experiments. Tolerating the uncertainty of failure is about facing your fears in your mind, heart, and gut - and being brave enough to do it anyway. Sure, failure is risky. Money might be lost. Jobs could be cut - including our own. But building up a tolerance for uncertainty will allow a certain degree of failure within your organization to be ..well tolerated! Executing small and smart risks minimize the damages of failure, and allow for new learning to happen for the next round of thinking and acting.
How do you build a high tolerance for uncertainty?
Building that high tolerance for uncertainty will take a concerted effort on your part: learn to stay present in the moment versus focusing on the uncertainty. Use small but smart experiments in your own life that allow you to be uncomfortable with the uncertainty of the end result. Finally, remind yourself that the work you are doing matters, and that this uncomfortable feeling is for a greater cause.
If handling uncertainty does not come natural to you, or you find yourself really struggling with uncertainty in your life (odds are it is not just in your professional life - then working with a good coach might be a good idea. A good coach can help you explore uncertainty in a safe and controlled environment.
What is the takeaway?
Building a high tolerance for uncertainty makes us more adaptable to change. Given how the world is in the 21st century, building a high tolerance for uncertainty is a necessity. Knowing why uncertainty matters and how to build a high tolerance for it, will give you a great advantage in your leadership journey.
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