3 Simple Habits that can Help you Survive Organizational Ambiguity.

Ambiguous: something that is unclear, confusing, or not certain.

Middle leaders can find themselves leading in an organization where ambiguity is the norm. Maybe the middle leader is working with a leader who doesn’t communicate clearly; or perhaps the organizational culture is not clearly defined or is continually changing. When you’re leading in an ambiguous setting, it’s easy to fall into a management mode where you do what’s expected—no more, no less. But a middle leader cannot grow in management mode!

If you find yourself swimming in the pool of ambiguity you’re not alone, and there is help. In their book: Simple habits for Complex Times: Powerful Practices for Leaders, Jennifer Gravers Berger and Keith Johnston suggest three simple yet powerful habits that can help a middle leader not only survive but grow in the midst of ambiguity.

The 3 habits are:

1. Ask different questions.

2. Take multiple perspectives.

3. Learn to see systems and observe how they function.

In the next three posts, we will focus on these three habits. However, For this weeks post, I want to give you a real-life example of living and working in ambiguity.

The year was 1996. My wife, our two sons and I had been living in Prague for only a few months. I remember having to mail back to the United States 400 newsletters. For me, the process to mail 400 international letters was unclear, confusing and not certain. Not only did I not know the proper postal and cultural procedures, I didn’t have the language skills to get the information I needed. It was all a vast swirling pool of ambiguity. I decided to figure it out via observation.

After several surveillance trips to the local post office, I made the following observations. First, there were a lot of people in the post office Second, everyone chose a particular line that was leading to a window where a postal clerk was processing “things.” Third, the process to mail a letter seemed to go something like this. You get in line. When it’s your turn you walk up to the window, purchase a stamp, attached the stamp to the envelope and hand the stamped envelope back to the postal clerk. It seemed simple enough.

Yet, like many who live in a state of ambiguity, though my observation skills were good, my analysis was poor.

With my new found knowledge I embarked on my mission to mail the letters. Here’s what I did. I went to the post office, got in the correct line, and purchased 400 stamps. Then, I went home and put a stamp on each of the 400 envelopes. I placed the letters in a box and headed to the post office. All I had to do was get in line, go up to the window and hand the box of individually stamped letters to the postal clerk. I was so proud that I had cracked the ambiguity code. As I left our home told my wife, “I’ll be back in no time.”

Here’s what happened. When I arrived, the post office was filled with people all lined up and ready for postal service business. When I got into the line with the box of 400 envelopes, the people around me got quiet. They began to stare at me and talk among themselves. Then they started saying things to me, but I didn’t understand, so I just smiled. I observed that some of them were rolling their eyes. I know what THAT means! But my prior observations told me I was doing all the right things, so I just stayed in line and moved toward the window.

When it was my turn, I walked up to the window. When the woman behind the window saw me, she shook her finger and her head in disapproval and said, “Ne!” I might not have known a lot of Czech at that point, but I knew the word, Ne! Not to mention that I couldn’t mistake the finger and the head shaking and the eyes rolling. I was doing the wrong thing and didn’t know how to proceed.

Here’s what I did. I panicked! With my heart pounding in my ears, I bravely placed the box of 400 stamped envelopes on the narrow ledge in front of the window. I turned around, and walked out of the post office as quickly as I could. I could hear people whispering.

I could also hear Mrs. Makelova (I would later find out that was her name) yelling at me as I walked out of the post office. The yelling continued as I turned left and walked past the post office with its three open windows. I continued to hear the yelling as I turned the corner half a block down the street from the post office. When I got home, I could still hear her in my mind. In fact, as I write this, I can hear Mrs. Markelova!

The next time I had to mail a newsletter back to the USA, I purchased the stamps, placed the stamps on the envelopes, and divided the stamped letters among three public mailboxes in the town square. I did that for years until I discovered that there was a particular post office where they welcome large boxes of international mail, with a smile and a thank you! I eventually learned to speak Czech, but I never returned to that post office. I’m afraid my picture is still on the wall, with the title, “Go to the Prague 6 post office—up the stairs and to the right. They will gladly process your large box of international mail.”

Next week’s post: Asking Different Questions