Ambiguity doesn’t have to be an achilles heel — it can be an asset. For companies and candidates alike in such a dynamic era of business, the ability to navigate uncertainty is paramount. For candidates, this ability manifests in strengths beyond the resume. Who are they at their core? How adaptable are they? Can they operate in environments where there is no “right answer”? The right candidate knows how to check all the boxes — and then operate beyond them. For companies and organizations, navigating ambiguity is often a requirement in hiring, developing company culture, and planning for an uncertain future. The most successful entities maintain a collected and curious posture towards unknowns — making them opportunities instead of progress-paralyzers.
At Janou LLC, we recognize that the executive search process — as with any rewarding, people-oriented affair — is a dance between clarity and ambiguity. For any given role Janou LLC is tasked with filling, more than a dozen candidates could be sufficient — but only one is truly right. Armed with a detailed understanding of client needs and an image of their “perfect” candidate, the Janou LLC team probes below the surface of hiring with intentional questions for candidates and best-fit analysis based on candidate skills & personality and client company culture. We get to the core of what makes a candidate tick and what they are passionate about. By going beyond candidate resumes to find insights in conversation and via intuition, the Janou LLC team uses ambiguity to their advantage.
Creativity thrives in uncertain times. Why? Because without ambiguity — from unanswered questions to complex situations — there would be no reason for innovation or improvement. Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, companies like Carhartt, Reformation, and 3DHQ pivoted to produce masks in empty factories. Online learning start-ups received huge investments. Matthew Leacock made a pandemic-inspired board game...aptly named, “Pandemic.” Nonprofits were affected in a good way. Companies and candidates should embrace this spirit of unique thinking in operations and interviewing, respectively.
Ambiguity is like a powerful wind. While it can knock the best companies and candidates off-kilter, harnessed correctly, it can take them far. Lean into ambiguity if you have the opportunity — and don’t be afraid to change course with the changing of the winds.