The following three scenarios from real life demonstrate that working with uncertainty can lead to anxiousness and feelings of being powerless. The six questions in this article when applied, helped the leaders involved to navigate the challenges presented to discover better relationships, more resources and greater shared success. Scenario 1. Marnie has taken on a lead networking role engaging stakeholders in an education sector innovation program. She quickly became overwhelmed by internal and external stakeholders that were placing strong demands upon her time. She struggled to create meaningful engagement. Scenario 2. Terri takes pride in leading a professional services team in a large community sector organisation provider. She finds her confidence is surprisingly buffeted with the appointment of a new CEO. She feels there is a lack of connection when they meet regularly face to face. She's starting to wonder how she will work with the new CEO. Scenario 3. Kevin has been a successful technical leader with a utility for more than 10 years. He was promoted to a new function head role responsible for positioning the business to tackle future challenges. Kevin finds the role is not what he expected. He has growing feelings of disconnection to the role and the rest of the organisation as he lacks clarity and focus. Often as a leader we are expected to lead people through complexity, change, volatility with a little chaos thrown in. This creates uncertainty for people involved and can trigger fear responses. We often try to solve situational concerns in our heads and on our own which may lead to another sleepless night and growing anxiety around relationship tensions. The 6 key questions to ask when facing uncertainty are: 1. What is important here to me and the stakeholders involved? 2. What do I and each stakeholder value in working together? 3. What does success look like for each stakeholder and for me or my team? 4. Which of the stakeholders are currently a resource available for this situation and who else could be a resource in finding solutions? 5. Who do I need to involve in conversations to analyse and identify options for moving forward? 6. Who do I need to speak to first? Let’s work through each question, one at a time, understand why they’re important, and look at an action from our scenarios that helped move the people involved forward. Plus, we will ask how can you apply these questions today? Question One: What is important here to me and the stakeholders involved? The first question helps us to see the big picture and to ensure we set up the right feedback loops to measure that we are on track to finding a way forward. We actually have less control over a situation than we think, despite our best intentions. Asking what is important ensures we will be aiming the conversations for maximising influence and impact towards our desired outcomes. In Marnie’s situation, to improve her external stakeholder’s experience of the program, she developed questions to ask each stakeholder to identify their specific needs, rather than just assuming she knew what was important based on historical data and third party hearsay. Then, addressing what was important for each stakeholder, she offered value-adding engagements rather than providing a more generalised “fix” for the sector stakeholders based on assumed problems. Question 2: What do I and each stakeholder value in working together? Understanding what you and other stakeholders value, ensures ease in finding common ground, discovering a common language and a shared way of working. This encourages collaboration and joint navigation through the major concerns. Where there are gaps in values and agendas, work will need to be undertaken, one conversation at a time, to uncover common ground as a starting point to arriving on the same page together. Terri in scenario 2, candidly enquired what her new CEO valued in their weekly catch up meetings and discovered the CEO had a strong desire to partner with Terri in finding solutions to critical organisational and financial challenges rather than hearing a report on how Terri had responded to, and was managing these issues. Terri altered her approach to the meetings and was delighted to discover a valued-partner, additional resources and a new perspective to find even better solutions in addressing organisational concerns. Her shift made her life easier and improved her working relationship. Question 3: What does success look like for each stakeholder and for me or my team This question challenges the assumptions that we know what success looks like for others. We often have no idea or mistakenly think we do. It's good to check that you do understand what success actually looks or even feels like. Done well, this question helps everybody see and explore the assumptions at play, and engages them to transform the way we work together and develop “contracts” for ensuring mutual success. The shared vision ensures transparency, increased accountability and builds trust. This question is designed to help us move from operating within assumptions, to being mindful of seeking a deeper understanding of the other person’s goals and needs and explicit expectations. It requires us to become clear about what success means and looks like for us and to create the space to openly share this vision with stakeholders. Through applying this question Kevin in scenario 3 discovered that his relationship with a Leadership Steering Group made up of Executives from across the Utility (and to whom he reported), had not provided clear guidance about their expectations for success for his function. It was assumed by the Group that he would know what to do? Using these questions Kevin created and actioned a plan to speak with key members of the group. His communication efforts not only generated the clarity and focus needed, but also identified a number of Executives that became important resources towards him achieving success in the role. This leads us to question 4. Question 4: Which of the stakeholders are currently a resource available for this situation and who else could be a resource in finding solutions We humans have evolved to be really good at working together. We are hard wired literally for connection and collaboration with others. Our brain’s Prefrontal Cortex houses our executive functions and enables us to work interdependently with others even within complex social structures and systems. Though we may feel it's too hard or complicated to involve others, when we do, we open up new sources of support: giving access to greater resources, diversified perspectives and wider contributions to the vision together with more energies to make things happen. Operating with honesty, humility and a desire to work together builds trust and leads to transformational conversations. From Terri’s action with the new CEO, we can see that some of our perceived “trickier” stakeholders are potentially a great source of ideas and partnership. Marnie’s reframing of her situational challenges found valuable networks and resources that impacted upon her own outcomes. Our first step here, is to challenge our preconceived beliefs and honestly check if our perceptions are helpful or holding us back. Then we ask what needs to happen here to move this stakeholder relationship forward. What can I do to be a partner and resource rather than hold back seeing the other as a barrier or even a threat. Sometimes inaccurate beliefs may prevent us from connecting at a deeper level. Conscious analysis is required to understand our thinking and reframe it where necessary, finding more realistic beliefs and exploring new paradigms. Vulnerability may be required on our part. Perhaps it is a need to overcome our fear of being seen as “not knowing it all” before we can plan our trust building conversations. We humans are great at being interdependent. It is in our nature to connect, build trust and work well together. Sometimes it will require an internal nudge and conscious choice to seek better relationships. Question 5: Who do I need to involve in conversations to analyse and identify options for moving forward Many organisations still believe in top-down decision making, only providing information across the broader organisation on a “as need to know” basis. This approach fails to engage many staff who, in fact, may have an excellent understanding of the situation plus excellent ideas that could feed into Executive Team decision making. Involving the right people into the conversation early on, will generate enthusiasm and participation, giving a wider audience ownership and accountability for finding and embedding solutions. Kevin checked his analysis and reading of his situation with his 2IC who was able to check out Kevin’s beliefs and help plan the necessary conversions with the Leadership Steering Group. Question 6: Who do I need to speak to first? From here the obvious next step, is who do I need to speak to first? Find trusted colleagues and set up a brainstorming session to help you identify key people, resources and what's at stake for each stakeholder. Putting the Questions to the Test So take a moment and recall your biggest challenge. I invite you to spend 20 minutes jotting down key answers to these 6 questions. Interestingly, you may also notice emerging patterns in addition to some “aha” insights. Again, check out your initial thoughts with a trusted colleague or two. Then start to implement the conversations that will lead you and your stakeholders through uncertainty and release the transformation necessary for the emergent future. Uncertainty is a reality we face yet we can apply these 6 questions with openness and a willingness to discover, confront our fears and find a field rich in options for: • recruiting others to co-create and navigate new ways forward together • finding additional resources and knowledge • building more transparent and trustful relationships • identifying and sharing our learnings • contracting for mutual success. A facilitated session with a professional coach or mentor will add additional value to the process. A further resource can be found by contacting me to discuss “The Pizza Exercise”, a tool that takes you through this process in greater detail. Robert Stocks Principal Consultant Integrated Coaching Solutions 0403 843 604 Visit https://icoachsolutions.com