Do you know what uncertainty management is? Did you know that one of the most powerful skills to lead today in the changing environments that surround us is not having all the answers, but knowing how to handle yourself when nothing is clear?
Today we will deal with the intrapersonal competence of Uncertainty Management. It is the ability to maintain clarity to make decisions and to take action when you do not have all the answers. It involves managing oneself appropriately to respond to uncertainty as effectively as possible.
Change, uncertainty
In today’s world, change is constant. We cannot eliminate uncertainty, but we can learn to live with it and to know how to manage it. If we don’t do it well, fear paralyzes us, our decisions become impulsive and we also infect the team with that fear, which goes into alert mode and chaos occurs. But if you develop this competence, you become adaptable, reliable, and strategic.
It is related to other competencies seen above, such as self-knowledge and self-control, adaptability, critical thinking, resilience, and decision-making under pressure.
HOW TO DEVELOP GOOD UNCERTAINTY MANAGEMENT?
Increase my self-knowledge and self-control
We need to understand how my emotional patterns and my thought patterns work in situations of risk and/or uncertainty. On many occasions, when uncertainty appears, we feel fear (it warns us of a possible “threat to survival”) and the brain activates “survival mode”, usually triggering one of these 3 automatic responses: fight, flight or blockage. At that moment it is very important to realize that reaction, and recognize that fear and the message that it is transmitting to me, as well as the positive intention of that message, which is to protect myself. I need to identify that I am in “reaction mode”, not in “reflection mode”. In order to move into that “reflection mode” and to be able to think clearly, (from the prefrontal cortex, analytical-rational brain), I need to decrease the intensity of that emotion.
Examples of techniques
- Practice diaphragmatic breathing, for 2-3 minutes, which will allow you to reduce cortisol and activate the parasympathetic system.
- Give yourself time/space before reacting and ask yourself questions to calm your mind and focus such as:
- What is under my control now?
- What factors can I influence?
- Develop your awareness of your resilience: Make a daily written record of the situations in which you have needed to adapt to a change or an unforeseen situation. Reflect:
What uncertainty did I face today?
How did I react? What positive behavior did I show in the situation?
What other behavior might you do differently on a similar occasion?
This habit strengthens your responsiveness and reduces impulsivity.
Facilitate this competence in your team
Shared uncertainty is best managed as a team. It is important that the team is aware that we do not have all the answers, but that there is a plan.
Exercise to practice with your team:
- Analyze together the unforeseen events or situations of risk/uncertainty that have happened in the last month/quarter.
- How has the team felt in these situations? What emotions arose in the different stages?
- What reactions from the team were positive and helped to manage the situation properly?
- What other behaviors could have been done differently to accommodate that risk/uncertainty?
- What are the learnings that the team extracts?
- How could the team members have been more supportive in this circumstance?
- What is the team committed to in the next situation of uncertainty it faces?
“Remember to continue developing your talent to reach your best version”
