Seven Strategies for Managing Uncertainty by Nicole Lance
“I don’t know where I’m going, but I know exactly how to get there.” Boyd Varty, A Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life I rst read this quote in Boyd Varty’s book in early fall 2019. It stuck with me, and in recent weeks I nd myself continually coming back to it. One of the greatest challenges in our current time is the vast amount of uncertainty that exists on a global, local, organizational, and even individual scale. Every day I talk to community leaders and public servants who all echo the same refrain, “We just wish we could predict where this is headed so we can put some plans in place.” Energy is waning, employees are asking for information, furloughs are being extended, citizens are getting restless, businesses are frustrated, and budgeting continues to be a massive exercise in conjecture. Managing uncertainty is dif cult at best and sometimes seemingly impossible. I recommend using these strategies to help manage your own uncertainty.
1. Create predictability in small doses. You can’t have the future predictability you might desire or that your team is asking for, but is there a daily or weekly practice you can commit to that will help you routinize your way of managing through this time? Identifying small “anchor points” throughout the day or week can orient you and your team and provide some of that desired continuity. Reprinted f rom the ICMA Blog, May 8, 2020.
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