Lead Through Uncertainty

Tip

Uncertainty is unavoidable. As a manager, you need to be prepared to lead your team through murky waters, but doing so requires getting in the right mindset yourself. Here are six tips to help you shift your perspective:

1. Embrace the discomfort of not knowing. Move from a know-it-all to a learn-it-all mindset. You don’t need to have all the answers.
2. Distinguish between "complicated" and "complex" issues. They require different solutions.
3. Let go of perfectionism. Instead, aim for progress, expect mistakes, and recognize that you have the ability to continually course correct as needed.
4. Resist the urge to oversimplify and come to quick conclusions. Take a disciplined approach to understanding both the complexity of the situation and your own biases.
5. Don’t go it alone. Connect with your peers who have their own set of experiences and perspectives to draw from.
6. Zoom out. Taking a broad, systemic view of the issues at hand can reveal unexamined assumptions that would otherwise be invisible.

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