Leadership in Action: Issues and Observations - Two Ways About it - Learning to Deal with Ambiguity

OTHER FACTORS

As with development of any skill, learning to deal with ambiguity is affected by a variety of internal and external factors. One of these factors is your hard-wired personality preferences, which may raise subtle barriers to dealing effectively with ambiguity. For instance, consider someone whose preference, as indicated by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^® (an instrument for identifying and understanding personality differences), is for judging. Judging people tend to be decisive and systematic, as opposed to perceiving people, who tend to be adaptable and to postpone action so they can seek more information. The judging person might find that purposely sustaining ambiguity is going against the grain. Similarly, a person with a ...