'Ambiguity is not your enemy'
Ambiguity isn't your enemy, but do realise that a company without a growth plan is more likely to put you in sh*t situations.
I can’t tell you how often I see some iteration of 'ambiguity comfort’ show up in job descriptions right now.
‘Must be comfortable with ambiguity.’
‘Previous experience navigating ambiguity required.’
‘Ability to navigate ambiguity a must’.
What’s really going on behind these seemingly innocuous words?
Let’s state the key fact to remember: the word ‘ambiguity’ shows up more often in companies with messy revenue growth structures.
Now before you say, ‘hey, I’m in an entry level marketing person, what do I know about revenue growth’. Hear me out. No matter what level you’re at in a company, revenue growth will impact your job!
Companies that are not in healthy revenue growth, scramble to find the strategy that will deliver that growth. And in so doing, they restructure, re-invent and change strategy and tactics quickly.
This haste = poor communication, which = ambiguity.
Ambiguity shows up at work in a few ways. Here are the ones I see most often:
👉 Deadlines that change with no warning.
👉 Leadership priorities that shift depending on who’s in the room.
👉 No one knowing who’s actually responsible for… anything.
Ambiguity is that fuzzy, frustrating middle space between ‘go!’ and ‘wait, what are we doing again?’. It’s redundancies and layoffs. It’s middle management being expected to have individual contributor goals while also managing their team’s workload.
And here’s the thing:
Ambiguity isn’t random. It shows up more in companies that are struggling to grow — wether they say so in the quarterly All Hands or not.
🚩 When growth gets desperate, structure falls apart.
Ever heard that phrase, ‘growth at any cost’? No, well you’ve probably seen the reality of it: multiple redundancies, constant restructure, top level being replaced every 24 months. Growth at any cost is a culture of fear and anxiety. One in which you don’t know how your work is contributing to the overall strategy. One in which you’re struggling to keep up with what the strategy is!
There’s a big difference between a company that’s growing healthily and one that’s chasing growth at any cost.
The first one?
🧭 Has a plan. Has priorities. Has a sales strategy and revenue operations that actually work.
The second one?
💨 Changes direction every quarter. Confuses tasks with strategy. Makes up new OKRs on a Wednesday afternoon and expects you to deliver them by Thursday.
That second company is a chaos factory.
And it feels like ambiguity.
But really, it’s a failure of clarity from the top down.
😵💫 Ambiguity trickles down.
When strategy is fuzzy, middle managers scramble to interpret it. When priorities shift, engineering and IT projects fail to deliver or lose budget mid-cycle. When no one has leadership support or feedback, people stop making decisions altogether.
And what does that look like for you?
→ Confusing feedback.
→ Conflicting deadlines.
→ Constant rework.
→ That feeling that nothing ever really gets done.
You’re not bad at your job. You’re operating inside of ambiguity.
🚨 So — what do you do when work is this unclear?
As I see it, you have two options:
Option 1: Jump ship and find a company that has a clear growth strategy and increased revenue year on year.
Option 2: Build the skills to navigate ambiguity. You don’t need technical skills and you don’t need leadership fluff. You need real-deal critical thinking skills that enable you navigate ambiguity with power.
Bonus Option 3: Do both. Build your skills now because ambiguity will come your way at some point AND if you’re in a really toxic environment, create your exit plan.
I call the skills needed to navigate ambiguity The Rules. Not because they’re rigid, but because they work when nothing else does.
The Rules give you the ability to see into the politics of an ambiguous situation and the tools to navigate it.
Here’s the tl;dr:
🔎 6 Rules for Navigating Ambiguity
1. Zoom Out:
If it feels chaotic, it probably lives inside a broken system. Start by mapping the bigger picture.
2. Detach from Outcome:
Stop tying your value to the outcome. When you let go of proving yourself, you start seeing clearly.
3. Widen the Lens:
Pull in more brains. More data. More perspective. Nothing grows in a vacuum (except resentment).
4. Map the Roles:
The office is a stage. Understand who’s playing what part — and stop accidentally auditioning for a role that isn’t yours.
5. Track the Power:
The real org chart lives in Slack messages and kitchen whispers. Find out who holds influence, not just title.
6. Anchor to Purpose:
When everything feels fuzzy, ask: What is this work really for? That question clears fog fast.
🙅♀️ This is not about ‘being more adaptable.’
You’ve heard that one before.
💪 "Be flexible."
📈 "Have a growth mindset."
Cool.
But when the goalposts are made of jelly, no amount of mindset is going to help.
You don’t need flexibility and if the company growth strategy isn’t your remit, a growth mindset won’t save you. What you need are the skills underlying The Rules to navigate the mess and to retain your mental health.
Apply The Rules to any situation, and you’ll come out on top BECAUSE you won’t succumb to the blame game. Constantly blaming others is a key indicator that a company is in a low growth cycle and that leadership are scrambling. Participating in that culture will absolutely harm your mental health.
Instead, get practical, make a plan using The Rules.
💡 The clarity edge
Here’s the real truth:
Most people at work are overwhelmed.
Few people are thinking clearly.
Even fewer know how to lead inside a fog.
You can be the person who brings clarity to the situation. Not by pretending you have all the answers — but by asking better questions, seeing the bigger picture and knowing when to step forward with intention.
That’s the edge. That’s the advantage. Ambiguity is here to stay.
But it doesn’t have to take you down with it.
⁉ Want a chance to practice The Rules?
Want to learn The Rules in action? I teach them in a variety of ways. And I’m the ideal coach if you’re under 30 and LGBTQI+ and/or a woman.
I offer: one-on-one sessions, group workshops, and (very soon) a short video course you can watch on your lunch break.
I get it, you’ve very likely never worked in an office and had the opportunity to observe leaders navigating ambiguous challenges, and yet you’re in a job in which that is a requirement. I give you the chance to learn and practice in a safe space.
And here’s my easy to keep survival guide for navigating ambiguity at work.
