As you grow and evolve in your leadership journey, I want to talk about the importance of having a high tolerance for ambiguity. It’s crucial, especially when you’re at a higher level of leadership. You can’t wait until you have all the exact answers before you act or start to implement. Part of being in a higher leadership position is charting new paths and designing the future. This often comes with a lack of exact answers or perfect clarity.
In a blog from 2023, I mentioned that Clarity is a Trap. Needing to have all the answers before acting is a trap. Here’s the key, leaders:
As you move higher up and chart the vision for the future, you become more comfortable with ambiguity. But you must understand that leaders earlier in their journey, or frontline employees, may not be as comfortable with uncertainty. So, as you’re figuring things out, you need to bring other leaders along on that journey. As you gain more details, communicate them through the organization.
At Service Express, when we roll out a big initiative, we often start with our senior leaders. This allows us to make and learn from mistakes, and we make it clear that we don’t have all the answers yet. We ask for feedback to make corrections. By the time we roll it out to the front lines, we have more answers because frontline employees are less comfortable with ambiguity, and that’s normal. They need answers. But at higher levels, you have to be comfortable with uncertainty, see the vision and move forward even when you don’t have all the answers. Then, when you’re ready, you roll it out to the rest of the organization.
Let me know how you handle ambiguity.
