Many event planners struggle to find speakers who make this topic land. Too often, ambiguity gets treated as an abstract academic concept instead of something audiences can act on Monday morning.
This article breaks down what leading through ambiguity actually means, the strategies that work, and why a speaker with a real story of navigating uncertainty, like Jon Dorenbos, makes the message stick long after the applause fades.
Key Takeaways
- Leading through ambiguity means making sound calls and keeping teams motivated without full information
- Unclear roles, shifting priorities, and vague outcomes drive most workplace ambiguity
- Top speakers pair practical frameworks with authentic personal storytelling
- A speaker who has lived through real uncertainty brings credibility no textbook can match
What Does "Leading Through Ambiguity" Really Mean?
Leading through ambiguity is the ability to make decisions and guide people forward when data is incomplete, direction is unclear, or signals conflict. It's different from change management, where the destination is known and the steps are mapped. Ambiguity gives you no map at all.
Harvard Business Impact's 2023 Global Leadership Development Study found that 68% of 1,274 surveyed leaders rated tolerance of ambiguity as a top capability gap in their organizations. The follow-up 2024 study confirmed the trend, with 70% flagging similar leadership shortfalls.
What happens when leaders don't handle this well? Three things, consistently:
- Decisions stall while teams wait for clarity that never arrives
- Anxious leaders tighten control instead of empowering others
- Trust erodes, and disengagement follows
The sections below cover proven strategies, the different types of workplace ambiguity, and how a keynote experience can make these ideas stick long after the session ends.
Core Strategies for Leading Teams Through Uncertainty
Leaders who thrive in uncertain conditions share a handful of habits. None of them require having all the answers.
Decide Before You're Certain
Jeff Bezos famously operates by a 70% rule: once you have roughly 70% of the information you'd like, act. Waiting for 100% slows everything down and rarely improves the outcome. Colin Powell used a similar 40/70 framework, adjusting the threshold based on how high the stakes are.
Communicate What You Know, Don't Know, and Plan to Find Out
Transparency reduces anxiety even when answers are incomplete. Tell your team:
- What's confirmed
- What's still unknown
- What the next step is to close that gap
Build Psychological Safety
Amy Edmondson's research on psychological safety showed that teams perform better when people feel safe raising half-formed ideas or flagging concerns. Google's Project Aristotle research later confirmed it: psychological safety ranked as the single biggest predictor of high-performing teams.
Reframe Ambiguity as Opportunity
A growth mindset, the belief that abilities develop through effort, correlates with higher resilience under uncertain conditions. Leaders who treat ambiguity as a chance to innovate, rather than a threat to survive, draw out more creative problem-solving from their teams.
A study in Group & Organization Management found that leader tolerance of ambiguity significantly predicted follower performance and creativity. The pattern held across two studies totaling nearly 750 employees.
Common Types of Workplace Ambiguity Leaders Must Navigate
Not all ambiguity looks the same, and a single response rarely fits every kind. Here's how it typically shows up:
| Type | What It Looks Like |
|---|---|
| Role ambiguity | Unclear job expectations after a reorg or new reporting line |
| Strategic ambiguity | Company direction shifts without explanation, leaving teams guessing priorities |
| Market/environmental uncertainty | Disruption from AI, new competitors, or regulatory change |
| Communication ambiguity | Mixed messages from leadership during a crisis or fast-moving initiative |
Recognizing which type your team is facing matters. Match the response to the type:
- Role ambiguity — Reset expectations, decision rights, and reporting lines
- Strategic ambiguity — Restate priorities and what can wait
- Market/environmental uncertainty — Offer a clear near-term vision and steady reassurance
- Communication ambiguity — Align leaders on one message and repeat it consistently
The wrong fix wastes time and can deepen the confusion.
Why Bring a Keynote Speaker to Teach This to Your Team
Internal training decks can explain frameworks. They rarely make people feel anything. That emotional gap is exactly where a keynote speaker with a lived story earns their fee.
Jon Dorenbos spent 14 years as an NFL long snapper, including 11 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he set the franchise record for 162 consecutive games played. In 2014, he was named First Team All-Pro and recognized as the NFL's most accurate snapper.
That kind of consistency doesn't come from waiting for certainty. It comes from performing under pressure, play after play, for over a decade.
His story goes further than football. At age 12, Jon's life was upended when his father murdered his mother. He spent a year in foster care before moving across the country to live with his aunt. Years later, after a move to the New Orleans Saints, doctors found a serious heart condition that required emergency surgery and ended his NFL career.
Jon reinvented himself as a magician, reached the finals on America's Got Talent and America's Got Talent: The Champions, and built a second career as a keynote speaker.
His path shows a repeated pattern:
- Adapting when the plan collapses
- Finding purpose after unexpected disruption
- Turning setbacks into a new direction, repeatedly
Jon has delivered that message to Fortune 500 audiences including Apple, Marriott, Kroger, Campbell Soup Company, and Five Below. The same themes land with teams facing their own ambiguity—retail disruption, healthcare regulation shifts, and sudden strategy changes.
How to Choose the Right Speaker on This Topic
Not every "resilience speaker" fits a leadership audience wrestling with ambiguity. Here's what actually matters when evaluating candidates.
- Substance behind the story: a research-backed framework paired with a real personal journey, not a highlight reel
- Proven corporate experience: speakers who regularly address Fortune 500 rooms know how to hold an executive audience
- Real customization: generic keynotes fall flat—look for someone who shapes emphasis around your goals, culture, and challenges
- Built-in engagement: storytelling alone fades after 20 minutes; tools that reinforce the message hold attention the full session With 1,000+ event appearances across corporate conferences, sales meetings, and leadership retreats, Jon reduces the risk of booking an unknown for a high-stakes event. He works with planners in advance on company goals and challenges, and weaves magic through the keynote as a metaphor for the message—not a side act—so the room stays with him start to finish.
Conclusion
Leading through ambiguity is a core executive competency. Organizations that invest in building it now will outmaneuver competitors when the next disruption hits.
When evaluating speakers for your next leadership event, weigh relevance and authenticity over name recognition alone. A speaker who has lived through uncertainty and rebuilt a career from it gives your audience proof, not just slides.
If you're planning a leadership conference or corporate event around this theme, consider booking Jon Dorenbos to deliver that message with the credibility of someone who has lived it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is leading through ambiguity?
Leading through ambiguity is the ability to make sound decisions and guide teams effectively when information is incomplete or direction is unclear. It takes confidence, transparency, and comfort with uncertainty—not waiting for perfect clarity.
How do you manage through ambiguity?
Communicate what's known, unknown, and the plan forward. Make decisions once you have roughly 70% of the information you'd like, and build psychological safety so your team feels safe raising unfinished ideas.
What are common types of ambiguity in the workplace?
The most common categories are role ambiguity, strategic ambiguity, market or environmental uncertainty, and communication ambiguity. These overlap often, and identifying which one your team faces helps you respond appropriately.
What is an example of ambiguity in the workplace?
A common example is unclear reporting lines during a company reorganization, where employees aren't sure who to report to or what their new responsibilities include. Shifting project priorities mid-quarter is another frequent one.
Why hire a keynote speaker to address leadership topics like ambiguity?
Storytelling-driven speakers make abstract concepts memorable in a way slide decks rarely do. A live keynote gives your team shared language and practical takeaways they can use the next time direction is unclear.
What makes Jon Dorenbos a fitting speaker for this topic?
Jon's 14-year NFL career, childhood tragedy, emergency heart surgery, and reinvention as an America's Got Talent finalist all demonstrate real resilience and adaptability. His story turns leadership concepts into something audiences remember well past the event.
