Communicating uncertainty without jeopardising your career

In today’s rapidly evolving landscape, leaders constantly find themselves having to navigate volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous situations.

Knowing how to lead effectively in these situations is a common pain point for many of my coaching clients. Most specifically, they wonder what to say and how to say it – particularly when they don’t know the answers themselves.

Feigning confidence when you don’t feel it is a popular counter strategy. Otherwise known as ‘fake it until you make it’, leaders recognise the importance of displaying courage and conviction and so opt for making positive and self-assured statements even when they feel anything but.

Yet to some, there is also a sense that this is neither honest nor authentic. In fact, those with strong views on integrity and personal accountability may reject this approach entirely, choosing instead to admit uncertainty directly whenever they feel it.  

However, this too can have unintended consequences, and leave well-meaning leaders struggling to maintain others’ belief in their competence.

Placing uncertainty where it belongs

Fortunately, there is a middle ground between faking it and assumed honesty that can be far more effective, and is actually more honest. And that is to place uncertainty exactly where it belongs.

What do I mean exactly? Well, when an uncertain situation arises at work, consider:

Why do I feel uncertain? Where is the uncertainty coming from?

On reflection, you will usually find a series of factors contributing to the uncertainty – none of which you are a direct cause. This means taking personal responsibility for it is misguided, while also affecting how others perceive you. If you are frequently telling your boss or team, “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure” or “I don’t have confidence”, it’s only natural that their confidence in you is going to slip.  

Interestingly, we’re fortunate to have a study on this very topic from which we can gain deeper insight. A few years ago, researchers set out to determine the effects to leaders when disclosing uncertainty, and found:

• Leaders who express uncertainty using external, objective language (“It is uncertain which project has greater promise”) were perceived as significantly more competent than leaders who use internal, subjective language (“I am uncertain”).
• Generally, leaders were perceived as more competent when they exuded certainty and confidence rather than admitting doubt. The way they communicated the uncertainty (as an external fact not a personal admission) helped mitigate the reputational cost.
• Participants paradoxically stated that leaders should be open about uncertainty instead of downplaying it, and those that used internal expressions (“I am uncertain”) were rated as more honest about their doubts.

This shows that while people believe honesty is important, admission of uncertainty inadvertently compromises belief in a leader’s competence.

For leaders who want to maintain honesty without jeopardising their reputation (and over time, their career), learning to use external language is a key skill. You are not uncertain. The situation, process, tool, data, etc. is the cause of the uncertainty, and attributing it as such builds confidence in your leadership abilities. It also opens the door for further discussion on what may be needed to reduce or remove the uncertainty, so you can make decisions you can stand behind.

Tackling uncertainty head on

Another effective strategy in the leadership toolbox to better navigate uncertainty is to increase your tolerance for it.

Many leaders incorrectly believe they are either just good or bad at coping with high-stress, ambiguous situations when in fact it is a skill that can be learned.

I often use psychometric profiling tools with coaching clients to ascertain their tolerance for ambiguity, and then work with them to understand how this tolerance level is playing out in their everyday thoughts and actions as a leader.

For example, having a high tolerance for ambiguity can actually work against you through things like delayed decision making or accepting uncertainty for longer than is needed. On the other hand, low tolerance for ambiguity can lead to rushed decisions, resistance to change, and unnecessary high stress when uncertainty presents itself.  

By learning specific strategies to shift your mindset in these moments, you begin to adopt a balanced approach that allows you to present a more confident and collected front. When combined with placing the uncertainty where it rightfully belongs through the language you use, this can make a major difference to how you are perceived by your boss and team, and ultimately to your career as a leader.

To learn more about ambiguity tolerance and other skills that support successful leadership, please get in touch.