Eliminating Unnecessary Uncertainty

American mathematics professor John Allen Paulos famously quipped, “Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.” Few other phrases are so applicable to our rapidly changing world with its innumerable political, health, and environmental challenges. Uncertainty and insecurity are the norms now more than ever.

Yet none of this means that we should throw up our hands in dismay or let the unpredictability of today’s world hold us back. Rather, the state of our ever-shifting world proves that leaders have a pressing responsibility to embrace change and eliminate unnecessary uncertainty to give their organizations a fighting chance for survival. While uncertainty is here to stay, and we can’t predict what changes will come at us in the future, we know that companies whose leaders are willing to adapt are the ones that are most likely to prosper.

Reducing uncertainty begins with understanding why it can be destructive if left untended. Known threats, such as an impending acquisition, a restructuring announcement, a dip in the economy, or the emergence of a new Covid-19 variant can send us into a state of panic, triggered by an overactive Survive Channel. This threat-seeking radar is activated by imagined or actual crises that lead to feelings of stress, anxiety, and fear. The sympathetic nervous system kicks into high gear, with all energy devoted to eliminating the threat.

Unknown threats are even more likely to send Survive into overdrive because they are hard to identify and even harder to preemptively address. Since a highly active Survive response focuses attention on eliminating threats, there is no energy or time to develop the new ideas and adaptive behaviors that are critical to success. A reliable antidote is for leaders to help remove the unknown threats associated with uncertainty.

The best way to do so is by ensuring transparent communication around:

• What is known
• What is unknown
• What actions are being taken
• What outcomes can be anticipated

Sharing this information provides context for what otherwise might be interpreted as a looming threat that has the power to cast a dark cloud of anxiety over an organization. Although leaders sometimes believe that it is best to wait until a situation crystallizes or more data becomes available, providing intermittent information at consistent mile markers is better than providing complete information at the end of the race.

Withholding even incomplete information can prompt employees to fill in the gaps with their own assumptions, which are often inaccurate and presume the worst-case scenario, thereby heightening fear and intensifying Survive. Leaders who remain transparent are ultimately more likely to earn respect and support because they have fostered a sense of authenticity, trustworthiness, and unification, showing that they value employees enough to share what is happening. A peek behind the curtain can help quell fears and enable employees to adapt to change without suffering from success-stifling anxiety.

In addition to prioritizing transparency, leaders can help eliminate unnecessary uncertainty by:

• Encouraging an open dialogue between employees and leaders so everyone feels comfortable sharing their concerns and challenges, which should then be addressed thoughtfully and efficiently.
• Limiting the amount of “noise” employees receive on a day-to-day basis so they don’t become too overwhelmed by irrelevant information that could introduce uncertainty into decision making.
• Tapping into the Thrive Channel, an opportunity-seeking radar associated with excitement and innovation, to promote an open-minded optimism about challenges and generate long-term solutions.

Uncertainty may be certain, but modern leaders have the capacity to overcome its negative implications by championing transparency, open dialogue, and strategic communication.

To learn more about eliminating unnecessary uncertainty and leading through change, read our Harvard Business Review article.