🌚 Living In The Gray Zone - Is That What You Really Want?

"Living in the gray zone": What do I mean by that?

Well, most of us like clear-cut conditions: "Which is better: A or B?" "What clearly definable options do we have?" And so on.

That still has its justification. The only thing is that the world is becoming increasingly uncertain.

And top leaders are characterized above all by the fact that they can deal not only with "black and white", but above all with the gray area in between.

It takes a lot more courage and forward thinking to be successful in uncertain decision-making situations in several dimensions.

And it is often not possible to achieve complete clarity in a reasonable amount of time, even with a great deal of effort. Because by the time you have the insights together, the situation may have changed again.

Therefore, my recommendation: You would do well to accept increasing uncertainties and a "life in the gray zone" and to take advantage of them.

The good news is that this can be trained. How? Here are three "exercises" for it:

1. Train inner calm.
   The most important thing is to train the confidence that you can always figure it out. Instead of falling into restlessness, you make your decisions calmly, even when chaos reigns around you.
   This inner calm is a conscious state. You can train it, for example, through meditation, through breathing techniques and, above all, through confidence that things will turn out well.
   Even if you are already extremely challenged as a leader: there will always be someone who calmly makes thoughtful decisions in even more difficult situations. That is top leadership.
2. Think in scenarios instead of plans.
   In calm times, plans are especially important because the parameters are more or less fixed. In uncertain times, on the other hand, it is better to think in scenarios that compare the effects of different directions.
   This is a habit of thinking. As an entrepreneur, you think more in terms of scenarios that you adjust more or less on an ongoing basis.
   Managers, on the other hand, generally rely more on plans. This does not work well if reality is not black or white.
   Therefore: Train yourself to think in scenarios.
3. Prioritize most important influences.
   It is becoming increasingly important not to let everything get to you, but to filter out those influences that help you make complex decisions. This means that you have to say no to many things and instead use those that help you make decisions.
   This refers to people, the environment and also events: What helps and what doesn't help in navigating rough seas? Everything else has to wait, often forever.
   I always admire the strict selectivity of top leaders regarding topics they let approach them.

So here you have three exercises to help you get better at (and help others get better at) navigating uncertain times successfully. Good luck with your implementation!

Next steps:

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