Relentless change and complexity make success difficult. Radical events like the current pandemic make things worse.
Those conditions guarantee that we aren’t guaranteed to know what to do.
So what do you do if you don’t know what to do?
Do something.
That’s right … if you don’t know what to do, start by doing something. Then see what you’ve learned and do again, improving your aim and results.
Limit the risk by doing something small that doesn’t create major harm to your world. The key is to pick something that will also provide information to improve next steps. There’s more possible than you may think at the outset. Under stress, we can tend to overemphasize risks and underestimate benefits.
If you don’t know the direction to go at the beginning, you will not get a sense of direction by not doing anything. Your fears will continue to eat at you. Only if you actually do something, check the results, and adjust direction will you get a better idea of what to do. Doing something will also help move you to a more positive state of mind.
If you’re on your own, it can be that simple.
For leaders
If you are a leader, here is what you can do:
- Acknowledge
- Radiate
- Communicate
- Start
- Check
- Adjust
- Repeat
- Model
Acknowledge. If people believe you know what to do, they will be far less likely to contribute to finding out the best way forward. Let them know that you don’t have all the answers, and ask for their participation.
Radiate. What do you know about the situation? What do others know? Find a way to radiate what’s known so that everyone can share and operate from a shared understanding. Don’t do a complete “dump” of everything possible that might affect the situation. That will create more confusion and delay. Strive for what’s relevant, important to know, and “just enough.”
Communicate. Absence of communication will amplify worry and stress. At least double your normal communication frequency. If nothing else, let people know you are still involved and care.
Start. Get people moving. “Do” is critical. Don’t accept cowering or retreat. Everyone needs to feel involved, that their particpation matters, and that they matter … and also feel movement.
Check. Come up with a way to see if the actions are producing desired results. Try it. If it doesn’t work, try another. The important thing is to have information – some form of feedback – to make positive adjustments.
Adjust. Change direction if results point that way. If things are going well, stay the course and get more feedback to check if still on course.
Repeat. This pattern works best in dealing with uncertainty if you do it several times. The uncertainty is unlikely to go away after one cycle. It also helps ingrain the practice to repeat and improve.
Model. This is the most powerful action for a leader. Be an example of what you want people to do and how. Acknowledge and radiate what you are learning and how you are improving yourself
Does any of this seem familiar? It’s an adaptation of the scientific method many of us learned about in school. It also is the foundation of approaches like lean and agile.
Instead of experiments to move science forward, use the power of experiments to move work (and life) forward.
Above all, don’t let events paralyze you. Choosing to do nothing is better than letting paralysis happen to you. Even better is to get moving and adjust as you go.
Start now!
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