While I was writing Magnificent Leadership, I noticed that the state of uncertainty is defined by what it is not.  In other words, by what is absent.   At the core of uncertainty is limbo, the state of suspension where we don’t know what comes next.  Missing are the answers and the outcome.  Perhaps we began an endeavor but have no idea how it turns out.  Or maybe we’re waiting for something to end, to be complete, and we have no knowledge about where that finish line is.

And most often, under these circumstances, we really want to know what comes next.

In the world of business, limbo and wanting to know what comes next might look something like this: You’re the CEO in the throes of an M&A and are tasked with leading the initiative but don’t know if you’ll still have a job afterward.  Or you’re the VP who’s been working toward and preparing for a new, elevated role as SVP, and are wondering and waiting.  Will you be selected?  Or perhaps you’re the Chief Strategy Officer at a pharma company who’s overseeing the new product launch, and there’s been an unexpected glitch that will hamper getting to market on time.

What then?

If uncertainty is characterized by limbo, then limbo is characterized by discomfort.

And over the coming weeks, I’ll be writing about The 5 Strategies for Leading Through Limbo.

The first is to accept what is.

That doesn’t mean you don’t want to change your circumstances.  Or that you don’t want things to be different.

It just means that you accept what is so that you can begin to assess what can be.

Stay tuned.  More to come.

If you’re interested in having a mutually exploratory conversation about Magnificent Leadership® for yourself and your team, or you’re trying to find your own way through leading through limbo, you can reach me at: sarah@sarah-levitt.com