Meta-Ambiguity Calls for Meta-Roles
Exploring my relationship with ambiguity, meta-ambiguity and the value of role clarity
Today’s post is an exploration of my relationship with ambiguity and the way that role clarity can pave a productive path to battling what I call “meta-ambiguity”.
note: I’ve been playing around with Apple’s new Freeform tool so I also included some visuals to accompany the post as a fun test run.
For a long time, I’ve carried a simple belief about myself:
I am comfortable with ambiguity.
This belief has felt like an admission pass into the world of adults. My inner narrative has been something like “there’s ambiguity everywhere we look so in order to be taken seriously, I can’t possibly come off as the guy who can’t handle ambiguity.”
But over a decade into my career I’ve started to take a closer look at my relationship with ambiguity. Since most of my career has been spent on work filled to the brim with ambiguity, and it’s often felt uncomfortable, I’m wondering whether it’s true that I’m comfortable with ambiguity.
Before throwing a belief out altogether, I prefer chipping away at it with some intentional modifiers until I reach what feels like a truthful core. Like shedding stale layers.
Here’s the same belief about myself, with a modifier:
I am comfortable with ambiguity when my role in tackling the ambiguity is clear.
That feels more true.
Why would role clarity make me comfortable with ambiguity that would otherwise be uncomfortable?
Looking back, I’m most comfortable with ambiguity after I’ve clarified my role in tackling it. And in order to clarify my role in resolving it, I first have to name it. Naming it allows me to develop an internal narrative that gives me a clear relationship with the ambiguity. Without a clear internal narrative, I’m lost.
So what about situations when the process for naming the ambiguity is, itself, ambiguous?
These situations are filled to the brim with what I call “meta-ambiguity”, which can be super uncomfortable and disorienting for me.
Meta-ambiguity calls for meta-roles
When I find myself in a meta-ambiguous situation, a safety mechanism seems to kick into motion resulting in me auto-assigning myself a meta-role of “role definer” to regain my bearings.
Playing the meta-role of role definer allows me to shape my role and the roles of my teammates around me by creating space to acknowledge the lack of role clarity with the team members and productively facilitate a discussion in which each person can share their perspective on (1) the roles that are needed and (2) volunteering to play respective roles.
This process ensures buy-in from each individual in the group to play their stated role because it’s not being forced on them; they’re opting in voluntarily. Granting people explicit permission to play a role in solving a certain ambiguous problem is key.
The absence of a clear role can make people (myself included) feel insecure about our contribution to the group because we’re unclear how to “latch” onto the problem in an effective way. This lack of clarity can devolve into burnout over time if left unaddressed.
Next time you find yourself feeling uncomfortable with ambiguity, I encourage you to pose a couple key question:
has the meta-ambiguity around roles been resolved?
does every member of the team have a clear role to play in solving the problem at hand?
If not, you may be staring at a golden opportunity.
Thanks for reading! 🙏
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