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What I Learned from an EV Road Trip about Dealing with Uncertainty

(Through the magic of automatic scheduling, as you’re reading this I may be rowing on a lake in Vermont.  Here’s my story from a trip earlier this year.)

It became quickly apparent that uncertainty and I are not good friends.

We were driving from San Francisco to Los Angeles in an electric car. There was a predicted route of charging stops, a predicted rate of electricity usage, but I knew all the predictions were BS.

We didn’t know what was going to happen. 

The variables were the road, traffic, running the AC, whether the electric chargers worked and how many other drivers stopped to charge.

To be sure, the consequences if the trip didn’t go according to plan were pretty low. But I just didn’t like not knowing how the situation would play out, and felt the breath-shortening, throat tightening, stomach-rumbling symptoms of stress as we set off. 

Watching the remaining milage drop precipitously as we left our urban area (thinking, does my family REALLY need the air conditioning up so high?) I shuffled through my mental file cabinets of calming options.  What I came up with was:

The hero’s (or heroine’s) journey

Stalwart of literature classes and Pixar films, the hero’s journey goes something like this:  Once upon a time there was __ who was happily ___ Then,  ___ [change or challenge is introduced]. The characters struggle, and the outcome seems uncertain or hopeless. Then, somehow they persevere and are able to attain their destination and learn _____. 

So my story became: 

“Once upon a time a family tried something new and drove their electric vehicle to LA. Along the way, they met obstacles to charging their car that delayed and caused them to spend excessive time in a Taco Bell. But in the end, they arrived in LA in time for the event, with Watermelon Freezes in their bellies and a better understanding of the electric car charging subculture.”

(Actually, I didn’t know about the Taco Bells yet).

The “hero’s journey” exercise was helpful to me because it normalized facing challenges, highlighted an achievable outcome, and gave me some needed emotional distance from the experience. 

Would this approach work for leading in these times of great uncertainty? I think so. Here’s why:

-You can speak about both the desirable destination AND the challenges.  

-A story can be repeated many times and still maintain interest.  

-A story is generative: people will add to it and make it their own.

Here’s how to use the hero’s journey:

  • First, try the practice on yourself: Next time you are facing uncertainty or a challenge, reframe the situation into a narrative with you at the center. You don’t need to list the challenges; your brain will probably fill them in automatically. How does it feel?  
  • Next, try a story out on others: If it’s awkward to think about it in a “once upon a time…” format, the key elements are the destination and the acknowledgement that there are challenges and uncertainty to arrive there. See if it resonates.

There is a lot more to say about leading in times of uncertainty, but my hero’s journey ends right here, where I learn to successfully end the article before losing everyone’s interest.

Happy journeying!

Are you (or a leader you know) feeling stuck in your  journey?  A coach can accelerate how you reach your destination and what you learn along the way.  Happy to chat about coaching anytime using this link.

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