Leading Strategicially

1/23/2021 Managing Ambivalence

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Managing Ambivalence

"Ambivalence can be understood as a phenomenon characterized by conflicted desires

pertaining to a choice and one's actions" (Simon, 2006, p. 92). Ambivalence can arise from

a conflict between two or more strategic plans or the competing factors that determine

workforce reductions. When a situation arises in which a leader is faced with ambivalence,

he or she can still act and make a decision. There is a difference between ambivalence and

indecisiveness. Indecisiveness is the in ability or failure to make a decision when faced

with conflicting factors.

Ambivalence is central to strategic leadership because evaluating alternatives is "an

essential part of the strategic decision making process and approach—avoidance conflicts

are inseparable from a decision making process" (Simon, 2006, p. 92). Ambivalence is

created when a decision maker remains open to information, leaving them vulnerability to

discovering that their decision is incorrect. A leader should retain the ability to keep an

open mind to new information during the decision-making process, as the situation might

change and influence the appropriate direction to take.

One of the chief expectations of a strategy leader is to make key decisions on behalf of

the stakeholders to create and sustain the competitive advantage of the organization. The

resulting alternatives could result in constraints for the organization. Generating

alternatives (e.g., inventing, developing, and designing products) is a laborious and costly

process, and there are many potential alternatives (Simon, 2007, p. 156). A successful

leader must be adept at generating, evaluating and analyzing alternatives for any course of

action in order to ensure that the best course of action is taken.

References

Simon, A. (2006). Leadership and managing ambivalence. Consulting Psychology Journal,

58(2), 91–105.

Simon, H. A. (1997). Administrative behavior (4th ed.). New York: The Free Press.

Learning Topic

1/23/2021 Managing Ambivalence

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