Don’t know what to do? Good.

We’ve all been there. Something unexpected has happened. It is time for a meeting. That meeting. The more people talk the more one thing becomes clear; no-one knows what to do.

The longer it goes on, the more confused everything gets. Arguments break out. Frustration boils over. Eventually, painfully, a course of action gets chosen. The same one as before. Yet the one thing everyone knows is that “same as before” will not help.

At work – and going all the way back to school – people expect us to have a ready answer. Not knowing is a failure. Something to be ashamed of. Something to hide. So we act as if we know what to do. That leads to wasted effort, missed opportunities and avoidable disasters. It leads to meetings just like the one above.

The problem is that we are not allowed to go off-script. There is a script – an expected order – at work. Something happens, so we do this, and then we get the right outcome. Repeat and profit. When those things stop lining up, however, we do not know what to do.

This article is about what to do when that happens. A guide for what to do when you do not know what to do. As you develop this ability you will both explore opportunities and understand threats that would otherwise be overlooked.

Working with limited knowledge is a vital professional skill. As you develop expertise, you are more and more likely to encounter problems that differ from anything anyone else has seen before. The increasingly unpredictable operating environment we now work in is more and more likely to create situations where no-one knows what to do, whatever their level of expertise.

Does this sound like a scary prospect? It does not have to be. Working at the edges of what we know is a skill that can you can learn like any other. Some people find that this kind of work is something that they have an innate talent for. Some find that they have been doing it all along without realising it.

You don’t have to start from scratch

Just because we do not know exactly what to do does not mean we have to do nothing. Having a framework which increases the chances of finding better options is an effective way of way of avoiding the paralysis of indecision or the oblivious same-as before action. You can think of it as a set of hints to get things moving smoothly again.

1.Recognising

Noticing that it has happened at all is the most important part of going off-script. The first signs it has happened are subtle. They can show up in emotions like apathy, anxiety, frustration and boredom. These might be directed at yourself, other people, or the situation in general.

The point of recognising is simply that. To notice that something is up. For most people, that means giving yourself a bit of time to allow these things to emerge. When we are always rushing from one thing to another, we never give ourselves the chance to recognise that something does not feel quite right.

Prompt questions:

– Has something changed?

– Does this feel different to before?

– Does something feel “off” here?

2. Exploring

This phase is about allowing yourself the chance to find different approaches and explanations than the obvious. It can be as simple as doing nothing except being with the feeling and the sensations you are experiencing when you think of the situation. Many people find it easier to do this exploration in a more active way, though. You can doodle, free-write, mindmap, or anything else you find helpful.

One thing that can make this step harder is getting ahead of the situation. Often things need time to work themselves out before a solution presents itself. Jumping straight from “things don’t feel right” to “I need to do something now” will lead to more of the same outcome as before. If you find yourself completely stuck, stop. Do something else. Go for a walk, listen to music, make some food. Sometimes focusing on other things allows inspiration to emerge.

Prompt questions:

-What do I understand about what is happening?

– What don’t I know about the situation?

-How would someone different see this? Naming a specific person can work well here.

3. Enacting

This step begins once you have a sense of what is happening. It is about exploring what, if that is true, you can then do about it. The key here is to experiment and try things out. You do not have to be right first time. The nature of working off-script is that you can never be sure it is going to work. By the time you have figured out enough to be certain, the opportunity will have passed or the threat will have materialised.

There are two things to check here. First, that whatever you try is safe enough that if it does not work, you and others will not face significant losses. You do not want to go all-in on a single solution to a complex problem. Second, make sure that whatever you do is intrinsically worthwhile. That covers you against any potential losses. If things do not work out as expected, but you had fun and learnt something, it is much harder to call the experience a failure.

Ultimately, you want a light, fun way to explore an interesting new path. Even though the situation may be serious, being playful will the solution allows you the freedom to try new, more effective approaches safely.

Prompt questions:

-What would this look like if it were easy?

-What is the least I can do to try this out?

– Who is best placed to try this out with?

4. Reflecting

It is easy to overlook this last step. Looking back feels tough when there are so many pressing things to attend to. It is only by looking back and integrating what we have learnt that we can get real benefits from what we now know.

You can do the reflection immediately after you have tried things out or sometime afterwards. The best approach is often both. Ask yourself and others questions about all aspects of what happened. Bring the experience towards a conclusion which you can use in the future. Write this in a document, record a video, draw a diagram or represent it some other way. You do not have to share this with anyone, though doing so can be useful.

The reflection process is about tying up loose ends and making sense of what has happened. It is about exploring the implications of what you have discovered. Now you can move forward with a more solid foundation.

Prompt questions:

– How did that feel? What felt good, and what felt bad?

– When might this approach be better than the conventional one? When might it not?

– What have you learnt from doing this?

– What are the implications for me? For others?

The real world

A guide like this looks neat and tidy on the page. That it is simple does not mean that following it is easy, though. The messy, tangled and ambiguous nature of reality makes it tough to implement. It is a practice. A cycle. One that gets better the more you do it, and the more you adapt it to your own needs and your own understanding of the world.

There are no precise answers here. It is less about finding what is “right” than about finding what is “helpful”. Ways of seeing things which enable positive, meaningful action. Going off-script enables us to write a better script, rather than repeatedly falling off the edge of the page.

Even though it can be hard, working off-script is not impossible, despite what you may have been told. Some stand to lose by doing things differently, and others have given up. Those people are unable to help. Instead, find those doing their own off-script work in related fields. They may not be in your immediate surroundings, but they will be there somewhere.

Surroundings matter, and doing this kind of work is not always practical or even safe. If you always need to ask for permission, justify yourself, or you get into trouble, it is unlikely your fault. Finding a better place to do what you do is always an option, and creating that space is part of the work itself. Things will not always change overnight, but they will change. Just because it has always been this way does not mean that it always will be.

About the author

Matthew Bellringer works with people who think differently to develop novel approaches to deep-rooted, complex problems. He offers consultancy and facilitation to neurodivergent individuals and the organisations who want to benefit from their unique talents.

You can find out more about his work, watch his liverecord podcast Delightful Dissent, and join the online community at https://www.divergentpathfinders.com – You can also connect with Matthew on LinkedIn