796: Build Your Tolerance for Uncertainty, with Simone Stolzoff

Simone Stolzoff: How to Not Know

Simone Stolzoff is an author and journalist who explores big questions about work, meaning, and identity. A former design lead at the global innovation firm IDEO, his work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and on the TED stage. He is the author of How to Not Know: The Value of Uncertainty in a World that Demands Answers (Amazon, Bookshop)*.

I’m not sure about you, but I very much dislike uncertainty. And yet, basically the job of leadership is to not only deal with it but to help others thrive in the midst of it. In this conversation, Simone and I explore how to build your tolerance for uncertainty so you can lead much more effectively.

Key Points

We love certainty and our tolerance for uncertainty is decreasing due to the internet, smartphones, and AI access.

Organizations with higher uncertainty tolerance tend to be more innovative and adaptable.

We assume unwavering confidence breeds credibility, when in fact, research shows that those who admit what they don’t know are perceived as more credible.

Professional athletes have the same threshold for pain but a higher pain tolerance. We can develop a similar tolerance for uncertainty.

Find your anchor points. By knowing the key boulders you can hang onto in a storm, you are vastly better able to weather uncertain times.

Build to learn. Progress depends on uncertainty.

Row through the fog. Maintain faith that you will discover the next step by continuing to row.

Sometimes what we feel is most uncertain is actually more certain than we realize.