Ambiguity is, by definition, a lack of clarity.  In one of my earlier posts I discussed the importance of establishing clarity as an element of earning the commitment of employees to the goals and objectives of the business.   Without clarity people are not sure in which direction they are going, how they are going to get there, nor their role in getting there.  Consequently, they will not commit to supporting your goals and objectives. 

However, leaders often find themselves in situations which lack that kind of clarity.  How do they bring clarity to situations in which the information they are working with is ambiguous or incomplete?

First, leaders need to understand that they must be comfortable operating in an environment that is not always well defined; it goes with the territory of leading.   

Second, leaders need to accept the fact that the higher their level in an organization the more complex decisions become.  That complexity comes from a lack of information, conflicting information, or conflicting goals among those affected by the decisions to be made. 

Finally, leaders need to accept the fact that not all situations can be fully and immediately clarified, and that they may need to operate in a gray zone for some period of time.  They need to accept that coming to closure on an issue is NOT always the right thing to do.  Sometimes it is best to let a situation progress until more information becomes available.

Therein lays a big part of the problem for leaders.  The difficulty for leaders in ambiguous situations is that they often feel that a decision must be made, a conclusion must be reached, and that THEY must make THE right decision and come to closure NOW.  Often they find themselves frozen because of the complexity of arriving at the single right decision that satisfies everyone.  They need to keep in mind that often there is no single right decision.  The important piece is that people need DIRECTION from the leader, not necessarily THE SINGLE RIGHT DECISION.  

However, leaders must also be aware that it is more difficult for employees to exist in a gray zone than it is for the leader.  Therefore, they need to recognize that each step they take in leading their businesses through complex issues requires redefining and reestablishing clarity for their teams.  In complex and ambiguous situations, the leader should define the direction in which the organization will move, and make it clear that at each step along that path he/she will redefine and communicate the right next step as necessary to get to the desired goal. 

How do you do that?

• First, get clear on what information you will need to reach that final conclusion.  Be relentless about working toward and getting that information.
• Meanwhile, lay out the action plans for all the options you are considering.  Look for the overlaps in actions associated with any of those options, and take those actions while you accumulate more information.  That enables you to move the organization forward while keeping as many options open as possible.
• Make small decisions that move you toward a conclusion but which also keep as many of those options open as possible.
• Identify indicators which will confirm or refute your choice as being the right one, and monitor those indicators.
• Reassess, redefine and take the next step accordingly.
• At some point the final decision will become clear and you can move to closure.

Do not feel pressured to have THE all encompassing answer immediately.  Be mindful of the goal you are trying to reach, the general direction you must take to get there, and steps that will move you continuously in that direction.  Take one step at a time and reassess.  Determine the next step and communicate.

It is like navigating a ship in the fog.  First rule: slow down.  Second rule: make small moves so you have time to change them if they prove to be wrong, but keep moving in the direction you need to go.

Though I frequently talk about the importance of being inclusive as a leader, there are some aspects of being a leader that are better mandated.  Establishing the culture of your organization is one of those aspects.  Actually, that is not entirely true, but to a large degree it is.  First, let me address the NOT ENTIRELY TRUE  part since that is a shorter discussion. 

Establishing a culture does require involving the key leaders of your organization because the culture of the organization must be something that they also believe in.   Including them in determining those aspects earns their buy-in.  In addition, you must have an effective process to get to that point so that you do not develop a list of values for your organization that does not truly reflect the beliefs and values of your leadership team.  Okay…done with that part.

If you do not build a culture in your organization one will emerge anyway, and it will likely NOT be the one you want. 

However, the core of the culture of your organization must be yours as the leader.  There are some elements of that culture that must meet your own standards regardless of what anyone else thinks.  It is your obligation to yourself and it is your responsibility to your organization to spell out who you are and what you fundamentally require of everyone in your organization.  If the culture is not something that you TOTALLY buy into as THE leader, then you WILL NOT adequately lead that business, because IT WILL NOT BE SOMETHING THAT YOU BELIEVE IN.  Inevitably you will bend on those values at some point and your credibility, as well as that of your organization culture, will be damaged.

As a result, when you assume a leadership position you must be very clear on exactly what those minimums are for you…they are non-negotiable.  You must make them clear to everyone.  You must be unwilling to accept anything less than those non-negotiables.  Be very careful how you choose them. 

For me there is only one non-negotiable…Teamwork.  Anything that violates that principle and you’re gone.  Of course, there are many elements that make up that value to me.  They include:

• integrity
• honesty
• support for others
• taking personal responsibility
• respect for others

Understand, you do not need to be the CEO to build a culture.  If you manage a department you can, and should, build a culture for your department.  If you are a first-line supervisor you should do the same.  However, in any position other then the CEO you should be mindful to build your “departmental” culture within the context of the larger culture of the organization so that there is not a conflict between the two.  Your next question might be, what if the larger organization culture is not something I agree with?  If that is the case then you may need to have some discussions about the existing organization culture and how to change it, or you may need to find another organization in which you find a better fit with your own values.

Finally, one might say, why bother building a culture if it can be so fragile and cause such damage if it breaks?  The answer is that if you dont build a culture in your organization, one will emerge anyway.  Left to its own devises that culture will NOT be what you, as the leader, value and what you think will be the most effective to get you to your organization’s goals.  Your task will then become changing that culture, and that is more difficult than building one correctly in the first place.

What do you think?

I think NOT!  I know many people who have zero charisma who are effective leaders.  I know people with charisma who are terrible leaders.  I know people who have charisma but led people down bad paths which were doomed to failure.

I have never heard a person say that charisma was the main skill they employed to successfully lead a company.

Is charisma essential?  Absolutely not.  There are many leadership skills which can be learned…in fact, most.  If you look through all the literature on Leadership you will find that most of the books are listings of skills which have worked for someone at some point in time or some situation.  Any one of those skills can be learned or developed.  Can charisma help?  I guess so.  It really depends on what is meant by charisma?

Wikipedia describes it as ”a trait found in persons with a facile personality, characterized by personal charm and magnetism (attractiveness), along with innate and powerfully sophisticated abilities of interpersonal communication and persuasion. One who is charismatic is said to be capable of using their personal being, rather than just speech or logic alone, to interface with other human beings in a personal and direct manner, and effectively communicate an argument or concept to them.

Personally, I think charisma is one element of many that CAN make a person an effective leader.  However, charisma, without any other skills, will not make a person a successful leader.  I have never heard a person say that charisma was the main skill they employed to successfully lead a company.

I think charisma refers to an ability to connect with other people…to relate to them.  If that is true, then I also think that some of the fundamental elements of charisma can be learned.  Think about it.  What does it take to connect with other people?

• truly listening to what someone says (putting aside all other distractions and being totally engaged)
• respecting and valuing their opinion (requires being open-minded and perhaps puttings one’s own ego aside!)
• empathizing with what they are saying (caring? how often do we really do that, especially in a business situation?)
• responding in a supportive way (again, how often do we do that in a business situation?)
• doing what you say you will do (walking the talk…actions speaking louder than words)

Charisma is often described as hard to define.  I agree.  I am sure you do as well.  I would love to hear your thoughts about it.