How do you deal with uncertainty?
A friend put it well the other day: move from the known to the unknown.
She’s smart, and I think she’s right. When things are uncertain, there are usually still some things we know. Facts. Experience. Values. What has worked before. What matters most. Start there. Use what you know as a platform for moving towards what you don’t know. You may not have 100 per cent certainty about where you will end up, but at least you know you are beginning from somewhere solid.
There are also times when the most truthful answer is simply: I don’t know. That can be difficult for leaders. People come to you expecting answers, and there is always a temptation to sound more certain than you really are. But perhaps one mark of maturity is knowing when certainty would simply be pretence.
Be clear about what you know. Be equally honest about what you don’t. And then take a courageous step. You don’t need to know the whole path before you begin. Often you learn by moving. You make a decision, see what happens, discover something new and adjust accordingly. The act of doing becomes a source of knowing.
So perhaps that is how I deal with uncertainty.
Start with what you know.
Admit what you don’t.
Then have enough courage to step out.
Sometimes the certainty we are waiting for only becomes visible once we begin moving.
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