April, 2014
By, Kevin Clickner
1. Have you worked at a company where your role or responsibilities were vague or unclear?
2. Have you been a member of a project that did not have a well-defined roadmap, timeline, goals, or measure of success?
3. Have you reported to someone who did not set distinct expectations for your performance?
I bet the majority of people would be able to answer one (if not all) of these questions with a resounding “Yes!” followed by a personal story of stalled projects and ineffective leadership. In my own career, I have experienced each of these scenarios several times. At one point, on a particularly vague project early in my career, I sat down with my manager to express my concerns. He let me vent for a while, listening to my points of frustration, before stopping me and saying, “Use the ambiguity in your projects as an opportunity.” He told me to identify the areas that lacked clarity and take the lead on defining them. I reflected on this seemingly simple advice and then began applying it to my work. The exercise, though strenuous, proved to not only bring a higher level of quality to the overall project, but also minimized my own anxiety along the way.
Ambiguity exists in every level of the business world, from vague client expectations to entire industries that lack clear direction (e.g. the current healthcare environment). By addressing and taking control of the ambiguous spaces, we can be better prepared to succeed over the long-term. I recommend starting small and begin identifying and defining the areas in your own role and projects that need clarification. Soon you’ll find yourself seeking out ambiguity in order to leverage it as an opportunity to solve the most complex, and often ignored problems.