What if the key to your startup's success isn't always unwavering confidence but sometimes strategic ambivalence? Both approaches have their pros and cons.
Let's take a confident look at ambivalence.
Ambivalence as a Strength
Ambivalence means seeing the benefits of multiple options. It makes you more receptive to new information and diverse advice. You can better understand and empathize with the positions and perspectives of multiple stakeholders.
Holding ambivalence is also valuable in these situations:
Strategy – viewing all options to mitigate risks and optimize outcomes
Creation – exploring new features, reaching markets, or increasing efficiency
Negotiation – empathizing with others to find mutually beneficial results
Organization – weighing all threats/opportunities for the company & team
Ambiguity can feel uncomfortable as you evaluate multiple choices and weigh their risks while feeling pressure to act. If you can sit with that discomfort, however, you'll likely find the best options.
When you demonstrate ambivalence as a leader, your team will seek input from each other, become more collaborative, and resolve problems faster.
Ambivalence as a Weakness
Ambivalence can be detrimental in certain situations:
Emergencies – when you must decide and act quickly
Implementations – when you must focus and execute efficiently
Conflicts – when you must defend your company or team determinedly
Deadlines – when you must move forward decisively
Another concern is that deliberating and seeking advice may be perceived as weakness or incompetence.
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲
By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches, you can consciously choose which to use.
The situation and audience should guide whether you respond thoughtfully or decisively. For example, you should rely on confidence when pitching potential investors but embrace ambivalence when brainstorming with your team. Negotiations can benefit from either approach, depending on the disposition of the other party.
For pivotal decisions, ideally you can discover options through ambivalence and then execute one with confidence.
Dwelling too long in strategy and leaping too quickly into action both carry risks. One effective approach is to evaluate your options for a defined period and then agree that everyone must support the final decision.
Key Takeaway: The more you recognize the benefits of both approaches and make conscious choices between them, the more options you'll have.
Want to Practice? Spend 5 minutes (yes, right now) to consider one big decision and determine if ambivalence or confidence is the right approach.
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90% of startups fail. Build Scale Grow solves problems for fast-growing startups, specializing in Social Impact, EdTech, and Health Tech and focusing on Introverted Founders.
I wrote this post with AI editing. Photo by Niklas Hamann who can be found here.
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