Uncertainty
Many of my coaching clients are talking about and grappling with uncertainty right now. Maybe they always are?
Some are saying that the business environment is tricker than it was for most of the Covid lockdowns; it certainly seemed that some, not all, businesses managed to create certainty out of that situation fairly quickly and to organise around that “new reality”.
Now, in contrast, businesses seem to be more prone to putting off decisions in a world where we still have a war on the continent of Europe, a new and deeply troubling situation in Israel and Palestine, political change and hugely disruptive development driven by both AI itself and the fear of the impact of AI. So many have said to me that their clients are delaying expenditure and/or projects and, as a result, they are having to consider doing the same.
One might say that grappling with uncertainty is a key element of being a CEO or other senior business leader. One might also say that craving certainty in an uncertain world is interference, in coaching terms. It is also clear to me that uncertainty is a stress-driver for many in business and a surfeit of stress is not good for a person or an organisation.
To put it more strongly: is it the case that confidence with uncertainty, and finding ways of dealing with the associated emotions, is the mark of an adept leader?
This raises demanding questions in terms of leadership development:
How can I be sufficiently relaxed about uncertainty or ambiguity that I lead others well?
How do I motivate an organisation facing many unknowns?
How do I get on top of “new realities”, or new business conditions, more quickly than my competitors?
How do I create the conditions around me where it is OK “not to know”?
Based upon my coaching work, it seems to me that there are certain types of people, or mindsets, which will be hugely positive in conditions of ambiguity.
Firstly, some people seem genuinely to enjoy or even to seek out ‘mystery’. They thrive on the exploration and the novelty. The greater the uncertainty, the happier and more energised they are.
Then there are the horizon-scanners who are skilled in imagining possibilities and in asking the right questions at the right time in order to identify what is coming.
There is tenacity. I coached someone who had chased a client for many years. Calmly but relentlessly. It turned into one of their organisation’s most impressive wins. Others might have given up or been told not to devote any more time to the prospect. (As an aside: I have done this myself. I simply chose not to give up over a period of something like 6 years and, in the end, won some lucrative and thoroughly enjoyable work.) Tenacity in the face of ambiguity would seem to be a strength.
There are people who are great enthusers or motivators, who create a sense of excitement around the future regardless of uncertainty. And those who are adept at simplifying so that others may understand what is going on around them.
There can be negative behaviours which cause interference for businesses, which are barriers. One would be being attached to the past, to historic ways of doing things which are about to become obsolete.
Another would be people who can only think within their own silo, or within their existing reality. Or non-diverse teams guilty of group-think or complacency…who culturally are ill-equipped to see the ramifications of significant changes.
Where am I going with this?
Well it seems to me that one way to start answering the above leadership questions is to check on the presence of the positive skills you need to create a new strategy which will survive the current turbulence. And to ensure there are not too many of the negative behaviours around you.
Another is to prioritise “we deal positively with uncertainty” as a key value and a behaviour that is sought in appointees to key roles.
Because the thing is…when the Internet was a new innovation there were winners and losers. There were organisations in which the leaders prioritised becoming Internet-savvy and translated that into a principle of how they did business.
Given what is going on around us right now, are you as a leader prioritising become AI-savvy, or preparing for a world in which the USA possibly becomes highly protectionist, or being ready for markets disrupted due to ongoing or even escalated conflict in Europe, the Middle East and possibly China/Taiwan?
There is your challenge.