One of the interesting aspects of technology is that it removes the necessity for things we used to do. In the beginning, it seems to be a big win to benefit from the new technology. That will remain true until, one day, one notices that immersing oneself in a new technology made things so easy that things that seemed natural to us have become difficult.
Navigation is one of these things. I’ve seen myself adapt to using a GPS, then a mobile phone, and then becoming picky with the choice of preferred navigation app.
Interestingly, I’ve come to understand that one of the main features of a navigation app is its ability to know where I am. Without that ability, it would never be able to help me find my way.
What makes this idea so relevant to leadership is that the more uncertain and complex our environment is, the more we need the ability to locate ourselves. Rarely in geographic coordinates, but clearly within the spectrum of what one wants to achieve.
At any given moment it supports the journey to be able to have an idea of how much of it has already been achieved and how much of it still has to be done. At the same time, this is information that isn’t available. It cannot be known as too much of it still is to come.
To handle this tension between knowing and not knowing one has to become creative about locating oneself. One possibility is to do as if one were locating oneself on a map. It’s for example taking the visible markers of one’s position. Whenever there is a crossing, there is the possibility to check the street names and find that information on the map. It can be a crossing, buildings, or nature that is visible, a lot of information is available in any given situation. That information can be considered and compared with one’s plan.
The more the journey progresses, the more information will be available allowing one to see how close one is to achieving one’s plan.
Without these cues, it is sometimes even impossible to know that one has reached one’s destination.
Another interesting detail is that the navigation app constantly updates one’s location. When one starts to move it will also help to see one’s orientation in relationship to one’s journey. Whenever we’ve moved, we’ve also found a new starting point for the rest of the journey.
It’s a metaphor. It’s a reminder that facts can be checked and made use of. However uncomfortable they may be.
