TSR #1: How to assess and navigate uncertainty
What’s in this newsletter:
One key question you should ask when facing uncertainty
The RADA Framework and how it can be used to navigate change
One actionable exercise you can do for yourself or with your team
One key question
I’ve had a very non-traditional career path. I’ve gone from banking to music, startup to agency. Sometimes I chose my next job and sometimes it chose me. I floated around to whatever role sounded interesting, I was just happy to learn new things and swim around in this uncertainty of where my career would go next.
Then, one day in 2015 my role was made redundant and I lost my job.
I was crushed, and desperate to find a new one. This time I needed to steer my own ship and drive towards the clarity I needed. After countless applications, I found a job I loved but it meant moving to an entirely new city, setting off another cycle of uncertainty...
Uncertainty is unavoidable, it will always pop up from time to time, and this much won’t change. What can change is how you respond to it.
So, are you swimming or steering?
Swimming vs steering
In any period of uncertainty, you need to decide whether you’re swimming or steering.
Swimming = acknowledgment and acceptance
Steering = analysis and change
What to ask yourself to understand better if you should swim or steer:
Is this uncertainty environmental or internal?
What are the negative outcomes of living in this uncertainty? What are the positive outcomes?
Do I need to acknowledge and live with this (swim), or influence it (steer)?
Is the solution out of my control or within it?
Both swimming and steering are completely valid, it’s up to you which way to go based on the situation. One thing that will help you regardless: seeking clarity.
Setting a framework to gain clarity
When seeking clarity for myself or my teams, I use the RADA framework.
Reflect:
Take a breath, take in the information you have, and reflect on your surroundings.
Assess:
Assess the situation with objectivity, reduce the variables, and tune out the noise.
Define:
Define the path to clarity. Do you need to do something about this (steer) or just acclimate to the new environment (swim)? What is in your control? What isn’t?
Act:
What can we do about this situation today? This week? This month? Start small if you have to, just start.
Your turn
Now it’s your turn.
Here’s a template that you can use as an exercise to go through the RADA framework, whenever you’re facing a situation of uncertainty.
You can use this for yourself, or forward it to your team, and begin your week by moving towards more clarity.
Try it out, and let me know what you think. Were you able to gain more clarity?
