The Evolving Leader

The Uncertainty Mindset with Vaughn Tan

Jun 28, 2023
Vaughn Tan, a consultant and strategy professor at University College London, shares insights on navigating uncertainty. He discusses how organizations often avoid uncertainty but need to embrace it for innovation. Vaughn highlights the distinction between risk and uncertainty, revealing how cultural experiences shape our responses to ambiguity. He introduces practical tools, like the IDK card deck, to help teams grow and adapt creatively. This engaging conversation emphasizes the importance of creativity and adaptability in leadership.
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INSIGHT

Uncertainty Versus Risk

  • Uncertainty differs fundamentally from risk in that it involves unknown actions and outcomes.
  • Strategic innovation emerges when teams imagine and pursue outcomes that do not yet exist.
INSIGHT

Leaders and Uncertainty Perception

  • Most leaders conflate all unknowns as risk, limiting their approach to managing uncertainty.
  • Those who excel either lack traditional business schooling or have entrepreneurial experience understanding different unknowns.
ADVICE

Train Productive Discomfort

  • Use the "IDK" deck to train yourself to embrace discomfort through novel, context-independent prompts.
  • Gradually increase discomfort in designed experiments to grow your ability to act amid uncertainty.
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