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Writer's pictureBlandine Kouyaté

Dealing with ambiguity

Human beings are like seeds: when nurtured their potential can materialise into a beautiful plant. I have progressively become aware of my own seed composition so I can bring what makes me who I am and re-balance places or situations that I am involved with through a unique leadership blend.



Dealing with ambiguity is one of the most important abilities in today's world.




Ambiguity can be found in many different situations yet I have observed that a lot of people do not always like it at first or actually know how to deal with it.


Why don’t we generally like ambiguity?


Ambiguity is uncomfortable for our mind as it leaves several interpretations open and does not allow to sustain a single clear answer for the same question. I call it an anti-binary approach: tell me, is the answer 0 or 1? well sometimes 0, sometimes 1, it depends on the context, circumstances etc.

A bit basic as an example but you get the point: ambiguity conflicts with our need for consistency, clarity and coherence. This is often quite a mental expectation to have all ambiguities removed although they do manifest all through life. So this can make some people extremely uncomfortable and I have already seen very capable individuals losing most of their means when facing an ambiguous situation due to the incomfort triggered by it.


So, what do we mean by dealing with ambiguity ?


In my experience, I have learnt to follow a three step cycle.


First, accept that life involves a level of ambiguity anyway.

Accepting does not mean agreeing with it - those are two different things. Generally speaking, acceptance in life is so important: it enables us to focus our energy on resolving the issue, not on accepting it. Easy to say I know!


Choose your battles. Always

Thus, naturally, another way of dealing with it is to remove any ambiguity that can be removed which is the first and foremost responsibility of a true leader (we are all leaders). What are the "must have" (must be clarified now) and the "nice to have" (would be good but can wait a bit)? Obviously, something is lacking: a guidance? a decision? a trade-off between so and so? or is it generated by a lack of information, by miscommunication? The role of communication here (as in everything we do) is so crucial. So, what needs to be addressed now? 

Choose your battles. Always.  


Move forward, no matter what

Then third how can I/we act through a deliberate strategy to move forward regardless of ambiguity? It does not mean forgetting that there is ambiguity, it does not mean we will not address it as soon as circumstances allow it, it means to continue to progress no matter what. Not everything will be perfect but at least bases and foundations will be built or strengthened.


This relentless cycle can be hard. Tiring. Exhausting sometimes and certainly demanding.


I usually can deal with ambiguity quite naturally.

Let me expand a bit with a generic example: life on earth at this moment in time is extremely ambiguous and allows many dissonant realities to exist next to each other, which to me is the first sign of ambiguity. One typical example in my mind being that I have been explained since childhood that the world we live in is much better in terms of health, security, comfort and opportunities and that I should do my best to contribute to the system and support it, yet I have kept seeing the most increasing gaps between people where it is clear that those realities (health, security, comfort and opportunities) are not the same at all in different parts of the world, nor for all people in one same place. I would even say that in our current world, the same person experiences both comfort and precariousness in their daily life at different levels and 2020 will certainly not be the year of a change on that trend.

This to me is a very obvious example of ambiguity in our everyday life. Not only to me by the way: more and more people express themselves about this.


So, back to how I deal with ambiguity: considering the above, I have mostly felt like I was living in a world filled with ambiguity since my early days and I have grown up being very conscious of this. Through this experimentation, I have therefore learnt to deal with ambiguity rather intuitively. As responsibilities increase, the level of ambiguity increases as well, so it is not surprising to find this ability at the top of the list of expected skills for broader roles. I have not felt specifically challenged by this through my professional path, viewing it as a natural component of gaining more responsibilities.


My challenge has rather been to find the right balance between accepting ambiguity while not feeding nor increasing it by my own behaviours or acts just because I was comfortable with it. Also, as everyone's perception is different, collective work and group life have taught me to take into account the reality of the other person and their level of comfort with ambiguity in order to act not only on what I perceive but also, and above all, on what others perceive to be ambiguous.


The learning journey has been quite interesting for me and I know I will continue to learn much more in the coming years.


As the world is going through a massive transformation, I am convinced that dealing with ambiguity will remain a core skill to work on, in any aspect of our life and helping those less comfortable becoming comfortable is an ongoing source of energy for me.

Visual design: Opal


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