Nobody knows what they're doing. Nobody. We're all winging it.
Every time we face a problem, we dig through mental filing cabinets and muscle memory. We apply what we know and what we've done as best we can, but it's always a best guess.
I figured this out in my first job at the tender age of 22. I quickly realised that everyone I worked with - politicians, Ministers, CEOs - was making it up as they went along. I'm not sure if that's comforting or confronting, but I do know that everyone is uncertain, and that our effectiveness is often down to:
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Being OK with that, and
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Making decisions anyway.
Knowing everyone is uncertain means a lot of value in being a catalytic convertor. (No, unlike the one from my 1984 50th Anniversary Nissan Langley. RIP.)
For example:
People hire employees because they're uncertain about their existing capacity to deliver. When they do that, they're still uncertain about whether they've scoped the job right, picked the right person, and can keep them on.
Add value as an employee by converting those uncertainties into trust.
People hire consultants and advisors because they're uncertain about the right choices and how to make them. Even once they appoint someone, they're uncertain whether they're on the right track and if they know what they want in the first place.
Add value as a consultant by converting those uncertainties into direction.
People work for leaders because they're uncertain about their abilities to make real impact or secure financial security by working for themselves. Even once they take a job, they're unsure if they're in the right industry and up to the task.
Add value as a leader by converting those uncertainties into empowerment.
People vote for politicians because they're uncertain about their future. After the election, they remain uncertain about whether they will do what they promised or if their lives will change as a result.
Add value as an elected member by converting those uncertainties into progress.
If you're worried about your job, your business, or your future, stop building technical skills and start thinking about what you can convert for others. There's always a market for uncertainty.
How do you convert uncertainty?
Til next week,
- A
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Alicia McKay