From Ambiguity to Illumination
Ambiguity is perhaps best portrayed as a visual display. What we see is ambiguous because it is “cluttered” with many things (the condition of complicated that was identified by Miller and Page). Alternatively, what we see is hazy. It is hard to make out the details through the fog (or through the distortion in our own lens). How then do we engage and overcome this ambiguity. The condition of Serenity would suggest that we simply eliminate the clutter, leaving us with only one thing upon which to focus (thus blinding ourselves to many important factors). We also can choose to simply leave the scene and look for conditions that are neither complicated nor hazy. We find a rabbit hole down which we can leap in order to enter a wonderland of alternative facts and fake news.
There is an alternative perspective (lens) that enables us to more fully understand and appreciate Essence as it is found even in an ambiguous condition. This perspective enables us to set polystatic baselines and make polystatic predictions even in hazy environment. To illustrate (and illuminate) this perspective, I turn to an analogy I have often presented when teaching about or writing about the processes of organizational consulting and coaching. The analogy concerns a ship entering a body of water (such as the San Francisco Bay) that offers the challenge of many shifting currents and tides.
These currents and tides can be disruptive. The fog might have settled in (as is often the case with the San Francisco Bay). This makes it hard for the captain and crew to see what is in front of them. The alternative perspective involves finding (or creating) a lighthouse that provides information regarding the complicated conditions in which the captain and crew find themselves. A strong light is emitted that pierces the haze. The lighthouse might indicate that it sits on land (to be avoided). It can also serve as a reference point for identification of a safe channel for traveling to an appropriate berth.
One of the primary responsibilities of the ship’s captain is to bring the ship safely to the entrance of the harbor (in this case entrance to the San Francisco Bay). At this point, the captain either brings their ship to the designated berth themselves (Model I) or gives up control to a tugboat captain (Model II) or a harbor pilot (Model III). Alternatively, the captain retains control but seeks guidance from signals emitted by the harbor lighthouse (Model IV). What should be done to help the captain of this ship safely come to the designated berth?
Go It Alone (Model I)
The first approach that might be taken by the captain of a ship is to “go it alone.” After all, between harbors, the ship’s captain is in charge. As the captain of an organization or captain of one unit in an organization, a leader can use position power or reward and punishment power in order to determine the direction of or guide the implementation of a specific change in the organization or in the life of a specific person. While there is considerable ambiguity in the world of this sole leader—and many currents and tidal changes for the ship’s captain to navigate—the ship’s captain retains control and learns alone from the mistakes that inevitably occur (in this turbulent VUCA-Plus world).
This first approach to ambiguity begins with the assumption that one should, as a leader, take immediate and primary responsibility for any change that is to take place in the life of their organization. One changes things by doing it himself or herself, rather than by somehow convincing other people that they should implement it. This “Go It Alone” (Model One) practitioner is an administrator, an implementor, an activist. The best thing one can do as a Model I leader is to act in a decisive and courageous manner when faced with ambiguity. One can learn from one’s mistakes along the way and adjust things as needed. This is learning by doing—the “American” way.
Download Article 1K Club
