Five Ways To Deal With Ambiguity At Work

WITH TIME, EXECUTIVES learn to deal uncertainty – whether in the markets or the workplace, but dealing with its close cousin, ambiguity, is a different ball game. Ambiguity makes employees work in circumstances where there is no clear goal, outcome or path. For some, it is the best time to innovate since there is nothing to lose, while for others, there are a host of tools to deal with the unknown. There are, of course, those for whom vagueness is a part of work life. Devina Sengupta suggests ways to deal with the phenomenon.

Think of All Scenarios When clients are unsure of what they want, it’s a tough call for entrepreneurs — there isn’t much left for them to work with. Happy Hands, a voluntary organisation, is familiar with such a situation. Companies often say they want workshops but do not know on what or are unaware of how much they want to spend, which leaves Happy Hands with no blueprint. "We think of many directions the project can go into and then work on a Plan A, B or C," says director Medhavi Gandhi. 

Invest in the Best Instead of waiting for the client to come up with solutions, Bangalorebased IT firm Wipro went through material on ways to deal with ambiguity. It customised some tools and trained the top brass on how to leverage the situation when there is no clarity. The teams were made to increase their risk appetite and selfconfidence and use the customised tools, keeping in mind that one of them will lead to the result.
Look for Similarities Alook at precedents and drawing parallels can assist senior employees to work with ambiguity, says E Balaji, CEO of Mafoi-Randstad. For him, the top brass often don’t have their KRAs clear unlike those in the lower order, who know exactly what is expected of them. Learning from similar experiences can help. If the experience is new, then discussions with other heads who could pitch in will help the executive to get over foggy conditions.
Take a Leap of Faith Innovation thrives best when there is ambiguity. The downturn saw many companies increasing their R&D spends and encouraging innovation in all spheres. Since it became difficult to predict what might happen in a few months, companies used different methods to try and reach out to more consumers with innovation.
Get the Team Together Team huddles, where everyone, irrespective of experience, can be asked to study the scenario and come up with permutations and combinations can not only yield solutions, but also enhance team spirit. It makes those at junior level believe that they too are a part of the larger picture.