Perpetual ambiguity and a tourist on the roundabout

Are you comfortable with ambiguity? Some organizations only want to hire flexible workers who can flourish in a state of constant chaos. Granted, the adrenaline high of a chaotic work environment can be exciting and rich with learning opportunities. I just don't believe it is sustainable - folks burn out and the organization suffers.

Don't get me wrong, in my own little world, ambiguity happens - it's part of the creative process, and for me, it serves as a necessary transition between starting a project and choosing a course of action. It's how I evaluate options, put a plan together and get work done.

That's not to say the plan won't change, it's just that, with ambiguity tamed, clarity reigns, and in this period I'm most effective: I analyze, prioritize, design, prototype, test and do it again, until the goal is met. When circumstances change, new goal(s) are defined and we get to start the process again, building on what we've learned and becoming more efficient.

I count on my organization to set achievable goals, to define:

• what we're doing
• why it's needed
• when it's needed
• who's the audience

That's not so much to ask, is it?

When an organization insists that ambiguity is the norm, I get a bad feeling...no good can come from perpetual ambiguity.

Without clear goals, ambiguity in the workplace is the time between decisions...sort of like a roundabout on the way to a completed project. And who wants to be the tourist on the roundabout?