Creating Confidence in Times of Ambiguity
Leadership is easy when the direction is clear. It’s during times of ambiguity, when anxieties are high and the path forward is murky, that our leadership is challenged.
Unclear situations and difficult times are sometimes reminiscent of past experiences, enabling the group and the leader to rely on lessons learned from past successes or failures. But during novel situations or the most complex circumstances, when there is no similar past experience to rely on, the group the state of confusion is heightened.
It’s easy in moments of extreme ambiguity to obsess about the “what ifs” and to become immobilized from doing anything. When you don’t know the best direction, standing still can seem like the safest bet. Of course, standing still in times of dramatic change will never instill confidence.
In times of ambiguity, the key to forward momentum and instilling confidence largely resides in having confidence in one’s own ability to navigate through the gray zone of not knowing what the future brings and how to best respond. It requires tapping into and trusting in one’s own ability to pivot to changing circumstances. Leaning on the purpose of the organization, clarifying the vision for the desired future state, and taking action — however small — to move forward, reinforce that the situation is manageable.
Underneath this confidence may be a swirl of legitimate anxieties. Leadership requires discerning how to keep emotionally stable to quell these anxieties. It requires taking care of oneself, periodically resting and relaxing even as the world demands more and more intensity in action.
In today’s ever-changing world, leaders need to increasingly be comfortable with ambiguity. But more than that, they need to be increasingly capable in instilling confidence in their teams in the midst of ambiguous times. In times of ambiguity, leaders have the opportunity to convey confidence that their teams can rise to the challenge, even potentially creating a new, more improved outcome.
“There is something special about the beauty in the unclear, the ambiguity, the in-between that you can’t totally recognise.” — Alessandro Michele
About the Authors
Pam Thompson MS, RN, FAAN is the CEO Emeritus of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, formerly AONE. During the same time, 2000–2016, she was the Senior VP of Nursing for the American Hospital Association. After retiring in 2017, she now serves as a healthcare consultant and volunteer board member and trustee for several healthcare entities.
Marla Weston PhD, RN, FAAN is the past CEO of the American Nurses Association Enterprise which included the American Nurses Association, American Nurses Credentialing Center and American Nurses Foundation, serving from 2009 to 2018. She now is a consultant and facilitator in leadership development, organizational strategy and growth, and future trends.
