Leaders can use ambiguity to encourage creativity and confidence
“Take advantage of the ambiguity in the world. Look at something and think what else it might be.”
—Roger von Oech
During one of my college summers, I worked for an earth-moving contractor and, being the new man and lowest on the totem pole, I was often tasked with asking the boss questions. They were never life-and-death requests, just clarifying questions. But I knew each one could be an opportunity if I played it right. Since he was rarely specific with his instructions, I asked questions like the following:
- “Hey, boss, did you want us to cut a swale into the end of the ditch or let it flow to the stream?”
- “Uh…Chief, you want me to match that benchmark at the wood line or grade it down?”
- “Where should we dump those loads of gravel?”
The boss was a terrible grouch, and the regular crew feared him. Since I was new and expendable, they thought, “Let the kid take the heat.” I saw right away that the boss was all bark and no bite, so I willingly played the part.
By being outspoken and unaffected, I gained some respect from the crew. I also think the boss figured out my angle early on and was mildly amused. It was almost as if I wouldn't let him be ambiguous. He wanted to answer the questions, but he waited for us to ask. That way, he knew we were developing and modeling insight and foresight on the job.
Earning Respect
Taking a sarcastic shot at my Italian heritage—and understanding that political correctness didn’t exist in the trades in the 1980s—he nicknamed me “Spaghetti.” He loved to yell it out when he needed something. “Spaghetti! You and the boys gonna turn that lunch hour into a lunch day? Get back to work!” I’d smile and wave, and he’d shake his head, hiding his smile.
By becoming the boss’s “target,” I was often privy to how he thought, and I began to see that some of his ambiguity was deliberate. He explained the job with loose parameters, which invited creativity from the crew. He didn’t want strict adherence to his instruction; he wanted suggestions and inventions.
The crew, however, never figured out his strategy and simply reacted to his gruff exterior with fear. For example, one day he instructed a foreman to run corrugated metal pipe under a huge industrial driveway for drainage. Logically, the pipe would run into the ditch on each side and go out through a ditch line. “But he waved his hands out when he said ‘pipe,’ so we better not tie into the ditch. We’ll run pipe all the way out,” said the foreman.
I said, “Wait a minute, that's a lot of very expensive pipe. Shouldn’t we ask?”
“Not me,” the foreman said.
I went to the trailer and asked. The boss started shaking his head. “Yeah, Spaghetti, tie into the ditch. You realize you just saved the job about $2,000, right?”
“Yes, sir,” I said. “Were you deliberately vague to see if anyone would ask?”
“Yep,” he said. “But it was supposed to be the foreman that asked, not the summer intern.”
At lunch that day, I replayed my discussion with the foreman and told him the boss was deliberately ambiguous because he wanted input and suggestions. “Don’t be intimidated by his gruff demeanor, that’s just how he talks,” I said. “He’s testing us to see if we’re learning.”
Transforming The Team
A few days later, we were ready to pour concrete for some sidewalks to be used as entryways to a new building. As we got the cement forms out, I watched the foreman approach the boss. They spoke for a few minutes, and the boss called everyone together.
He explained that the foreman had suggested covering the whole area with sand, observing the trails and footprints as people entered the building the next day, then setting the forms where the paths had formed. Following this suggestion, the sidewalks were poured according to the footstep indications, and over time the grass grew flush with the sidewalk, and no corners were worn out from people cutting across the yard.
That day changed the relationship between the boss and the foreman. I kept in touch with the crew as time went on, and I learned that the foreman struck out on his own. He now runs his own company. I assume it never would have happened without the grouchy boss who forced the foreman to challenge authority and think beyond what he was told.
Think about it, friends—isn’t it true that letting a kid push the mower and fill it with gas makes him more prone to cut the grass without being pushed and reminded?
Isn’t the staff more participatory and energized when the boss welcomes their input and encourages them to theorize and develop new ideas?
Even on a more personal level, don’t you appreciate your mate asking your opinion on matters instead of assuming you’ll go along?
Why would this strategy of simple empowerment ever backfire in the workplace? Politicians conduct polls to measure what voters want. Television producers use test audiences to measure viewers’ approval of programming. Product manufacturers send out free samples to see which ones are more readily consumed.
Challenge your people. Use ambiguity to leave doors open and see what develops in the gaps. Take control by exercising very little. The payoff will be a creative, empowered, engaged, and growing staff.
