Besides death and taxes, one thing that is certain is that we are living in uncertain times. Certainty is a myth. Uncertainty is reality.
Life has been uncertain ever since that whole incident between Eve and the snake in the Garden of Eden.
Virtually every character in the Bible encounters situations in which they must deal with uncertainty.
Jesus himself emphasized the uncertainty of life when He told the disciples the parable of the Rich Fool.
“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Luke 12:16-20)
This guy thought he had everything figured out. He had a solid retirement plan. Little did he know what was in store!
James, the half-brother of Jesus, also warned against assuming what would happen in the future.
“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15)
From the very beginning of man, what is clear is that change is inevitable, and with change comes uncertainty. And what drives change? Knowledge drives change!
Knowledge Drives Change Which Creates Uncertainty
Knowledge drives change, and change creates uncertainty.
For example, from the dawn of time until the early 1900s, man’s primary transportation was on foot, a horse, or a donkey. In 1908, Henry Ford revolutionized personal transportation by mass-producing the Model T. Now, 110 years later, we have computerized, GPS-enabled, self-driving automobiles.
Our Bible provides another excellent example of knowledge driving change. St. Jerome assembled the first 66 book version of the OT and NT Bible about A.D. 400 (Latin). It wasn’t until 1382 (almost 1,000 years) before the first English translation of the Bible by Wycliffe appeared. In 1455, the Gutenberg Bible (Latin) was first printed. Ordinary people who didn’t know Latin had to wait another 150 years until 1611 when the King James English authorized Bible was published. Now, you and I have access to dozens of translations of the Bible, and most are handily available on our cell phones and tablets!
If you noticed from these examples, the rate of change has increased dramatically since 1900. Man’s increasing knowledge is what drives that change. Statisticians say that man’s knowledge is increasing logarithmically. Until 1900, man’s knowledge doubled every 100 years; by 1945, man’s knowledge doubled every 25 years. In 2000 man’s knowledge was doubling every 13 months. Now, they claim, in 2020, man’s knowledge doubles every 12 hours!
Can you wrap your head around that claim? Since you got up yesterday, man’s knowledge doubled!
No wonder you feel like you are leading in uncertain times! You are! Because everything you knew to be true yesterday may not be true today, and who knows what will be true tomorrow or next month?
So, with all this knowledge driving change creating uncertainty, we need to have an effective strategy to lead in uncertain times!
7 Essential Strategies for Leading in Uncertain Times
A Harvard Business Review article published last year entitled “6 Strategies for Leading Through Uncertainty” provides a good start for those of us looking to be better equipped as leaders in uncertain times.
I’ve adapted the author’s six strategies, added the biblical basis for each, and added a seventh strategy which honestly is the most important!
1. Accept Uncertainty
The first strategy for leading in uncertain times is simply accepting that life is uncertain. We need to embrace the discomfort of not knowing everything and realize that not every problem has a simple “right” answer.
Imagine Moses. He minded his own business, living the good life, when God came along and told him he was to lead the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land. Moses had never led anyone, anywhere, and suddenly, he was responsible for leading several million people to a land he had never been.
Talk about a curveball! The journey didn’t start too well as the Egyptians chased them down to kill or recapture them. Then, of course, the journey, which should have taken a few weeks, ended up taking 40 years! All that time, with every day being uncertain, Moses trusted in God to lead and care for the people
2. Distinguish Between Complicated and Complex
As leaders, we often fail to differentiate between complicated and complex issues. We mistakenly use the same approach in dealing with both.
Complicated issues can be broken down into discrete parts and solved. For example, taxes are complicated, but completing them can be broken down into discrete tasks and completed by an expert with relative ease.
Usually, the knowledge for dealing with complicated issues exists; we need to apply the knowledge to the solution and act!
But complex issues contain interdependent elements, some known, some unknown. Solutions to complex problems often arise from trial and error.
For example, when Nehemiah learned about the sad state of affairs back in Jerusalem, God put it in his head to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city walls and gates. It took a great deal of prayer and planning before Nehemiah even set foot in Jerusalem. When the rebuilding started, enemies inside and outside Jerusalem tried to thwart their progress. Ultimately, Hezekiah succeeded in rebuilding the city walls and gates in only 52 days! (Nehemiah 1-6)
Complex issues often take the longest to solve and are likely to contain uncertain or even unknown elements!
3. Avoid Perfectionism
In a complex environment, striving for perfectionism is futile. Instead, aim for progress, expect mistakes, and course-correct along the way.
Action-oriented bosses have been telling their employees for years, “If you wait for perfect conditions, you’ll never get anything done!”
I always thought that was a good paraphrase of the instruction in Ecclesiastes:
“He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.” (Eccl 11:4)
Perfectionism is often triggered by fear. Fear of failure. Fear of being wrong. Fear of looking bad. Perfectionism kills progress.
4. Resist Oversimplifications and Quick Solutions
It is tempting to oversimplify complex problems to make them look easier to solve. You feel more in control, but it’s a false sense of security.
Action-oriented people need to balance the need for action with a disciplined approach to solving the problem. Oversimplifying a problem or making quick decisions without important information can lead to disastrous results.
Jesus cautioned the disciples to be sure they understood the cost of every course of action.
“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28)
5. Don’t Go It Alone
Faced with complex problems, many leaders feel the need to solve the issues themselves.
We don’t know it all, and we don’t have time to learn it all. That’s why leaders need to have teams of experts/consultants to provide input into complex problems.
Solomon, the author of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, said it is important for leaders to work through situations with others.
“Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17)
“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.” (Eccl 4:9)
In another of my favorite examples, Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, chided him for trying to be the sole judge between the people of Israel. Jethro told Moses to recruit trusted men who could judge cases and share the load of leading the people (Exodus 18:1-27).
6. Get Out of the Weeds
Do you remember the movie “Honey I Shrunk the Kids?” In the film, the dad invents a ray gun that shrinks whatever it aims at. Accidentally, dad shrinks the kids in the backyard. The rest of the movie tells the story of how the kids try to make their way back to the house through the grass that is way above their heads. They are lost in a jungle of tall grass, not knowing which way to go until one of the kids climbs up on a stalk to get a look around. From his higher vantage point, the kid plots the direction back to the safety of the house.
That’s precisely what happens to some leaders who try to solve all the problems and deal with every detail themselves. They lose track of where they are going because they are lost in the weeds and can no longer see the big picture.
In Acts, Luke describes a situation where the apostles were being pulled into the weeds. He said, “It is unacceptable for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables” (Acts 6:2). It’s not that waiting on tables wasn’t important work; it’s that the apostles needed to be focused on the big picture, not get lost in the weeds of waiting on tables.
7. Prayer
Without a doubt, the most important of the strategies for Christian leaders in dealing with uncertainty is prayer.
We need to take every uncertain situation to God in prayer and seek His wisdom.
In 2 Kings 19, we read the story of when the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom of Israel. Next, the Assyrians surrounded Jerusalem and sent King Hezekiah a letter with their terms of surrender. With no idea how to proceed, Hezekiah immediately went to the temple and laid their letter of demands before the Lord. The Lord answered Hezekiah’s prayer by defeating the Assyrian army.
Solomon also relied on the Lord during times of uncertainty, saying,
“In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths”. (Proverbs 3:6)
In his letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul stressed the importance of dealing with uncertainty by taking everything to the Lord in prayer. He said,
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
Leading in Uncertain Times
Whether you are a leader in business, government, or a faith-based organization, you lead in uncertain times. The best way to lead in uncertain times is to follow these seven strategies:
- Accept that we are living and leading in uncertain times.
- Distinguish between complicated and complex problems and deal with them.
- Avoid the futility of perfectionism in favor of making progress.
- Resist the temptation to oversimplify a problem or accept the quick, easy solution to complex issues.
- Don’t face problems alone but surround yourself with Godly advisors.
- Stay out of the weeds and keep a big picture perspective. And,
- Most important, when leading in uncertain times, pray regularly, taking issues to the Lord.
More Articles
I have written several articles on self-discipline. You can find them by typing “self-discipline” in the search bar. Meanwhile, here are a few of my favorites.
- #455: How Do Smart Godly Leaders Cultivate Their Leadership Soil?
- #452: How to Deal Responsibly with Two Kinds of Limits in Your Life!
- #380: What One Thing Do You Need to Do to Start Winning?
- #361: What Can You Do If the Battle is Unavoidable?
- #290: Are There Consequences for Living Any Way You Want?
Join the Conversation
As always, questions and comments are welcome. How would you rate yourself as a leader in uncertain times? Are these aspects of these seven strategies you need to incorporate in your leadership?
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Category: Personal Development | Self-Discipline
Ah, perfectionism. How I’ve struggled with this one. I used to have a sign in my office that read: “Done trumps perfect.” Because sometimes I just needed to complete a project. It didn’t need to be perfect, just done adequately. Of course, I’m retired now from my last profession, but as an artist and writer perfectionism is still with me. So I work at differentiating between work that needs to be perfect versus other tasks that just need to be done. And so it goes!
Perfectionism. Maybe it has something that plagues the creative brain. My artist dad was a perfectionist in just about every aspect of his life. It served him well in some ways (he did beautiful work as an architectural renderer) but he was so slow employers would get frustrated and end up letting him go. Then he would try another creative career, and the cycle would repeat.