Clearing the Fog: How to Stop Ambiguity from Frustrating Your Team

What to do when leadership ambiguity drives confusion and anxiety

Patrick Battistolo/ Unsplash

I've been hearing the term "ambiguity" thrown around a lot lately. Ambiguity is like a creeping fog that obscures the road ahead. It's not just the lack of a clear path that frustrates teams. When there's a mismatch between a company's words and actions, morale and productivity significantly suffer.

This inconsistency makes it difficult for teams to discern the right direction.

The WeWork saga is a textbook example of how ambiguity can derail a company, leaving both employees and investors at a loss.

The company that once claimed to revolutionize how the world works faced a stunning downfall. At the epicenter was CEO Adam Neumann, who took ambiguity to a new level.

The charismatic leader believed WeWork wasn't in the business of subletting office space but was built to "elevate the world's consciousness." The constant mixed signals left employees not knowing whether they were working for a real estate organization, a tech company, or a lifestyle brand.

Neumman d…