Overview

An innovator's guide to embracing ambiguity and reimagining what's possible. Ambiguity-a lack of clarity-is traditionally viewed as negative, a fuzziness to be corrected. Many people resist uncertainty and change, preferring instead the comfortable idea that what was or what is are inherently better options than what might be. Innovation facilitators Katrin Elster and Tamara Christensen see it differently. To them, ambiguity is a valuable resource for innovation, a space of endless possibility where perceived risk becomes the framework for professional transformation. Leading in Ambiguity is a visually engaging guide for anyone who aspires to help teams and organizations manage ambiguity capacity as they move away from stagnation and toward resilience. Throughout, Elster and Christensen lay out the steps to achieving true innovation in your workplace, from ideas to actions. They'll guide you through assessing your current roadblocks, identifying your aspirations for growth, and exploring the mindset and design principles that will lead you and your team through an exciting shift in how you think, act, and create. Leading in Ambiguity will come in handy when you're ready to face uncertainty with empathy and creativity.

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9783982445106

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Reviews

What's stopping the next wave of innovation? Don't limit your analysis to just the tech or the firm's strategy. Success in the connected age also depends on a rare psychological capacity: the ability to wrangle-and label-those big emotions that cloud our sense-seeking brains when we face complexity, uncertainty, and the unknown. Elster and Christensen provide a world-wise framework for leaders dealing with those unsettling encounters with ambiguity when 'wetware' (humans with all our foibles) meets 'hardware' (disruptive technologies and the demise of the status quo). -Frank Jurden, Executive Director, Global Advisory, VMLY&R Are you a human living in today's volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world? Read this book! Katrin and Tamara not only help us better understand what ambiguity is and is not-they lay out a framework to navigate ambiguity and build our ambiguity capacity. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. -Cary Lopez, Director of Strategic Initiatives, University Design Institute, Arizona State University This book could be your hitchhiker's guide to ambiguity. Read it-you will rethink your situation and that of your team and enhance your ability to develop and realize new possibilities. By showing us how to experience ambiguity as a gift-not a threat-this book makes our personal and business challenges more satisfying. -Eberhard Haug, CISO, DB Schenker Logistics There are hundreds of books about change management, innovation, and the VUCA world-is there really a need for another one covering this topic under yet another headline? Yes, there is! Katrin and Tamara explore the wild VUCA world we are all trying to cope with-on a personal or professional level-from a new angle: ambiguity. Their people-centered, compassionate, and co-creative approach to ambiguity is full of practical examples, easy-to-use tools, and personal experience. If you want to know how to become aware of, assess, and activate ambiguity as a leader, this is your ultimate guide. -Prof. Dr. Patricia Adam, Professor of International Management, University of Applied Sciences & Arts Hannover The topics and theme of Leading in Ambiguity are incredibly timely and well suited for the challenges we are all facing at home, at work, and in our communities. We can't predict or control the future, and that can be terrifying or liberating, depending on how we react. This book is a call to action for those with an optimistic spirit, open mind, and open heart who are ready to act. I found this book to be incredibly comforting, encouraging, and inspiring and would highly recommend it to anyone unable to predict the future. -Matthew Zabel, Design Director, 3M

Author Information

Katrin Elster is an inspiring trainer, facilitator, community builder, and entrepreneur with a strong emphasis on playful and human-centered learning. Katrin is passionate about creating spaces where others feel comfortable to trustfully share, learn, and create together. Under her brands, StrategicPlay(R) and CoCreACT(R), Katrin has offered trainings and solutions around strategic co-creation and innovation like LEGO(R) SERIOUS PLAY(R) since 2010. She designs and facilitates engaging and visionary workshops with major global organizations, including the OECD, the German Bundeswehr Command and Staff College, universities, and Volkswagen. In her free time, she loves to build and co-organize international communities and unconferences like Play4Agile, a major global event for playful approaches for agile teams and transformation. In addition to having many talents, Katrin is known to her friends to be a thoughtful gift-giver and impeccable vacation planner who is also capable of finding the perfect playlist for any occasion. Katrin can artfully steer any discussion to her favorite topic-ambiguity and how it can be both a negative stressor and a stimulus for growth. Tamara Christensen, PhD, is a dynamic and empathetic facilitator, collaboration designer, trainer, and business owner. She has over twenty years of experience blending design thinking, research, creative problem-solving, and collaboration to help organizations build innovation capabilities and apply them to complex business challenges. Through her consultancy, Idea Farm Co-op, Tamara works with various organizations across diverse industries, from local businesses to higher education institutions and global Fortune 100 companies, including Honeywell and 3M. She is also a partner with CoCreACT(R), delivering project-based leadership development programs that fuel innovation and transformation. Tamara is an international educator with the Thunderbird School of Global Management and an Expert-in-Residence with the University Design Institute at Arizona State University. Her book F-ing Innovation: Why Innovation Is Hard and What to Do About It is available on Amazon. Tamara has been described metaphorically as a glass of prosecco, a whirling dervish, and a sharpie. She is convinced that years of waitressing and single parenting prepared her to face nearly any ambiguous challenge with a smile and compassion.

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