Learning to Sit With Uncertainty

In leadership, you often don't know the right answer. You don't know the outcome. And sometimes you have to sit on your hands. Yet you still have to lead….and try to lead with confidence and credibility.

Whether it's deciding on the right investment over the next five years, balancing staying busy vs planning, trusting gut instinct vs demanding more analysis, stepping in vs stepping back, or my least favorite: being forceful vs being the nice guy.

These are examples of leadership tensions. Situations where there isn't a clear yes-or-no answer. No certainty.

For people like me, who love getting things checked off a list and prefer right vs wrong decisions, sitting with tension, particularly for a long time, can be tough.

Leadership is often about sitting with uncertainty longer than feels comfortable - without letting people around you see your angst. I often get asked about “executive presence” and this leadership maturity is a big part of it.

Ship Analogy

Think of a sailor navigating through fog.

When the sailor can’t see, the worst thing to do is make aggressive course corrections based on incomplete information.

Instead, they should slow down, stay alert, gather more information, and avoid creating a bigger problem - Leadership can feel the same.

The Risks of Not Sitting With Discomfort

When leaders rush to resolve discomfort, they often:

• Make decisions before enough information is available.

• Micromanage when patience would have worked better.

• Mistake activity for progress.

• Overreact to short-term noise.

• Create unnecessary work for themselves and others.

I've certainly done all of these.

Many leadership mistakes don’t come from moving too slowly, they come from trying to eliminate uncertainty too quickly.

Possible Solution

One of the biggest shifts in my own leadership journey has been recognizing that discomfort doesn't always require action.

Sometimes it requires another conversation, more thinking..or more time!

The challenge for busy people is that sitting with uncertainty rarely feels productive.

Leaders Don't Need More Answers

Most leaders I coach don't need more skills, more analysis, or another framework.

What they often need is the confidence to stay present when the answer isn't immediately clear.

To resist the urge to fill the silence. To sit with tension. To trust that clarity will emerge, rather than arrive on demand.

Weekly Reset

As you look ahead to next week, ask yourself:

• What am I trying to force an answer to right now?

• And what might happen if I gave it another week, another conversation, or another perspective before deciding?

Sometimes the next leadership move isn't action. It's patience.