By Randy Chittum, Ph.D
What effective leaders use to guide themselves and their organizations through uncertainty
As I visit and talk with people in various industries, I’ve found the word “uncertain” is used more in healthcare than any other industry. The normal platitudes, such as “fortune favors the bold” or “the best way to predict the future is to create it (Drucker)” are of little help to leaders who are actively trying to navigate the uncertainty. So what is a leader to do? If you have read any of the previous leadership articles, you know I will suggest that the answer lies inside us.
A state of being
Here is the first clue: We have begun to use uncertain as a way to describe the world, when it is in fact a description of a person. Uncertain — and certain for that matter — are emotions. When I cannot decide which coffee to get at my local coffee shop, I am uncertain. The coffee shop has options which may cause my feeling uncertain but in truth, it is I who is uncertain. This might not pass the test of a language philosopher, but it serves my purpose to remind you that uncertainty is a state of being, not a state of things. To that end I can choose to become more certain, even in the face of a changing environment.
The flipside is also true. Unfounded certainty is the scariest thing I see in leaders. Margaret Wheatley said “we have become more certain but less informed, and far less thoughtful.” With any luck you are feeling uncertain about certainty.
What if we imagined that leadership was less about predicting which way the winds of uncertainty will blow? What if it were instead about choosing who I want to be as a leader and who we want to be as an organization? What is the meaningful contribution we wish to make? Finally, what if we made those choices in the absence of attachment to a specific outcome? If the world is truly uncertain, then it is almost entirely unpredictable anyway.
What guides you
I have seen leaders navigate uncertainty by doing just what I am suggesting. They have developed two things that guide them when everything else is unclear. The first is a clear leadership brand that keeps them focused on true north as it relates to WHO they are. The second is a clear and compelling vision that is connected to something purposeful that is bigger than the business results. Vision and purpose clarify the intersection of our shared values and a need that we see in the world. For that reason they can serve to transcend the feelings of uncertainty and thus guide us in our choices.
I have long believed that we use complexity to keep us safe. What I mean is that as long as things are really hard to understand, I give myself permission to not act. It requires more courage to declare a personal brand and organizational vision and then boldly pursue it.