Ambiguity is also a decision.

In complex organisational contexts, ambiguity is often presented as a virtue. It is associated with flexibility, with leaving space, with avoiding over-regulation. And in certain moments, that is true: not everything needs to be closed immediately.

The problem arises when ambiguity stops being a conscious tool and becomes a permanent state.

In those cases, lack of clarity is not the result of a deliberate strategy, but of avoidance: of tension, of conflict, or of the responsibility that comes with deciding and taking a position. What feels uncomfortable to close is kept open, trusting that time, context or people will “eventually adjust”.

But a vacuum does not remain empty. It gets filled.

It fills with interpretations, with misaligned micro-decisions, with implicit agendas and silent frictions. What was meant to be flexible becomes blurred; what was supposed to enable ends up wearing the system down.

From a growth mindset, clarity is not a constraint. It is an enabling condition.

Clarity does not mean rigidity or excessive control. It means shared direction: what is expected, who is responsible, where the margins of autonomy are and where they are not. It allows people to make better decisions without constantly having to guess the framework in which they operate.

From a leadership and governance perspective, sustained ambiguity is not neutral. It redistributes responsibility without making it explicit and weakens an organisation’s ability to hold coherent decisions over time. When no one is truly accountable, the system becomes reactive.

The impact is cumulative. Trust erodes, cultural coherence fragments and leaders move from exercising direction to managing consequences. Energy shifts away from purpose and towards managing wear and tear.

Not deciding is also a decision. A decision by omission, by fatigue and by involuntary delegation to the environment. And that type of decision rarely builds sustainable value.

Clarity does not eliminate complexity. It removes confusion about who is responsible for managing it.

By Miriam Ponce

Director Corporate Culture & Governance