It’s one of the few facts in business everyone
agrees on: Without a clear and compelling strategy, your business will fail.
From MBA programs, to business book jackets, to the last keynote you attended,
you’ve heard it repeated again and again.
Despite this, we frequently find ourselves
managing in situations of strategic ambiguity—when it isn’t clear where you’re
going or how you’ll get there. Why does this happen? Market conditions shift
rapidly. Customers have more choices than ever. Resources are constrained.
Executives leave, interims are appointed, and searches drag on. The list
continues, and even if your company is nimble enough to set strategy
effectively at the top, keeping the entire organization strategically aligned
is an entirely different challenge. Your company might have a clear strategic
imperative, but your unit or team might not.
In my consulting practice, I work with leaders
all over the world on strategy and execution, and they shift uncomfortably in
their chairs every time I broach this topic. Strategic uncertainty can feel
like slogging through mud. Leaders avoid investments. Decisions are deferred.
Resources are frozen. Fear, uncertainty, and doubt drive bad behavior and
personal agendas. Even so, companies often succeed or fail based on their
managers’ ability to move the organization forward precisely at times when the
path ahead is hazy.
The best managers find ways to provide
steady, realistic direction and to lead with excellence, even when the strategy
isn’t clear. Push your leaders for clarity, yes. In the meantime, be
productive. There are three things you can do today that will put you in a
better position to manage strategic ambiguity: Take pragmatic action, cultivate
emotional steadiness, and tap into others’ expertise.
Source: HBR 09 Jan, 2019
