Ways to Deal with Uncertainty as a Leader/Manager

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Ways to Deal with Uncertainty as a Leader/Manager
🔥 Is your company, business unit or department currently experiencing uncertain times or circumstances? Or are you wondering if you should transfer to a new team or department or start a new job at a new organization? Or do you have jitters about the new project your boss just handed you (given that you have never handled a task of similar nature)?
The common thing which makes one afraid of dealing with scenarios like the above is uncertainty. When one cannot comprehend how things like this could turn out, one is often afraid of making decisions (fearing adverse consequences). Falling prey to this 'fear of uncertainty' is devastating to both employees, managers and leaders – resulting in loss of confidence, decreased motivation, and reduced job performance.

The way to navigate through this kind of uncertainty at the workplace is not running away from them but by facing the challenges head-on. Here is a list of six tactics that employees, managers and leaders can use to manage situations with uncertainties:

1. ACCEPT THAT YOU DON'T KNOW IT ALL: We seem to have acquired answers that fit every problem we have encountered throughout our lives. We try to apply one of these 'standard solutions' to every problem that comes our way. With new problems bringing in newer challenges, this trick does not always work out. One way to deal with uncertain circumstances is to acknowledge and accept them as a part of learning. This change of perspective can relieve an immense load of stress and pressure during difficult times. It can also facilitate the flow of ideas and thought processes effectively.
2. LEARN TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN COMPLICATED AND COMPLEX: Events that we assume are Uncertain are actually either Complicated or Complex – understanding the difference between the two helps to tackle them better. When a situation is Complex, numerous components are at play (such a situation might not always be difficult). For example, when a company has to digitize its paper-based customer records. This process involves numerous steps like identifying different record formats, creating database tables, scanning or feeding the data into a computer, etc. The key to tackling such problems is handling the situation one component at a time, addressing the issues at each stage as they arrive.
   On the other hand, a Complicated situation may not have many components, yet it is unpredictable and difficult. Solutions to such problems can be found through trial and error methods, thus requiring constant learning and adaptation. For example, a factory manager who has to deal with his workers on strike has to tackle a complicated issue. While dealing with a complicated issue, one must not confront the problem in terms of its difficulty level, rather try solving it using an open mind and common sense.
Related LearningHow to Choose the Appropriate Decision-making Method
Categories of Randomness (Uncertainty)
Cynefin Framework
Cognitive Biases
Empowerment Leadership
3. STOP RUNNING BEHIND PERFECTIONISM: Uncertain situations do not call for perfectionism since the environment is constantly changing. Employees high on perfectionism and need for achievement should try to let go of their fears of imperfection, such as making a wrong decision, fear of failure, and not being able to deal with it. Uncertain situations provide numerous opportunities for learning and developing oneself. Get rid of your fears, accept failures as they come, and adapt yourself to the situation
4. AVOID OVERSIMPLIFICATION AND REACHING QUICK CONCLUSIONS: Often, employees get frustrated when they cannot reach solutions for challenges they encounter at work. Similarly, when faced with a complex situation, employees might break it down into too many components and oversimplify it. However, this can also result in a false feeling of simplification and could minimize the seriousness of the present problem. Hence, it is important to avoid oversimplification, understand and acknowledge the core presenting problem and own biases that might play as well.
5. DON'T DO IT ALL ALONE: Managers often report feelings of isolation which comes from the ever-changing and uncertain situations at the workplace that they have to deal with. This isolation is mainly due to their belief in 'solving all the issues independently'. As the complexity of the task increases, it requires more effort. There is indeed a limit to individual ability, capacity, and knowledge. However, working with teams can help expand our knowledge, present us with different experiences and enable us to look at a specific problem using a different perspective.
6. FIND THE TIME TO ZOOM OUT: Employees tend to get deeply immersed into the problem while trying to solve it. Sometimes, the root cause of the problem might not be visible to us directly. All our attempts to solve the problem might not always be fruitful, not unless we tackle the root cause of the problem. The key lies in zooming out, trying to see the bigger picture. Look at other systems, other components, the connections, or interdependencies. For example, a bottleneck in a project would be coming from Team A, whereas in reality, this might be due to a dependency on Team B, who may have a dependency on another Team C. Looking at the big picture helps to identify this.

⇒ Can you think of more such ways to deal with uncertainties? Do mention them in the comments below.

Sources
Zucker, R. & Rowell, D. (2021, April 26) '6 Strategies for Leading Through Uncertainty.' Harvard Business Review.
Wong, F. (2018, October 24). How To Manage Uncertainties At Work. Medium.

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		Micheal Bulyerali Uganda
	3 Good Guidelines for Dealing with Uncertainty The article is informative. These are good guidelines for dealing with uncertainty. I think the points may also apply to life situations, generally, not only the work-related environment. In life, th (...)

		Mordi sullivan CEO, Nigeria
	1 How Managers can Deal with Uncertainty Educative article. This is a really good guide for managers like us on how to deal with uncertainty. Personally I have thought in my place of work what the future holds considering the many government (...)

		ambreen CEO
	1 Uncertainty 1st Rule Is: The first rule must be trusting yourself that I can do this. I can overcome this uncertainty and then apply the rest of six rules. If the manager is not trusting himself then all these rules are not g (...)

		Anonymous
	4 No Such First Rule Against Uncertainty @Ambreen: With all respect, I think your suggestion to start with trusting yourself in case of uncertainty is not very good. Take another look at the article… Advice 1: accept that you don't know it (...)

		thipane moitlisi Student (Other), Lesotho
	2 All Tips are Good But Rule #5 is the Best Impressive indeed! I highly recommend #5. You might be new in an organization or in a project, you might be given managerial position based on your qualifications. But, surely, there might be people (...)

		Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	3 More Ways to Deal with Uncertainty as a Manager or Leader Here are some more strategies to deal with uncertainty I've distilled from various sources: 7. MAINTAIN FLEXIBILITY Be adaptable in your approach, as rigid plans often fail in uncertain situations. (...)

		Anonymous
	0 Making Uncertain Decision Won’t Keeps Us Free from Accountability Uncertain decision expected from those experienced top-level managers, or executives; when they make these decisions, it would be better for them to follow ethical guideline or diversify the risk by p (...)

		Maurice Hogarth Consultant, United Kingdom
	1 Mindsets for Coping with Uncertainty Accepting all of the points made in the previous postings, for me, the primary requirement would seem to be wrapped up in the phrase: "It is important to keep your head when all around are losing the (...)

		Paramathmuni srinivas Kumar India
	0 Divide, Reflect and Adapt for Reducing the Uncertainty InTasks Divide the uncertain tasks into sequence of chunks. Consider the alternatives to achieve the target and perform risk analysis for each alternative. Reflect and adapt needs to be done while executing t (...)

		Keesjan Kleef Project Manager, Netherlands
	1 Reduce Uncertainty by Effect Management A lot of this boils down to risk management or even more effect management. Make clear what choices there are and what are the effects of each choice. (Aka step 9 and 11 proposed by @Jaap de Jonge). A (...)