The solution is sensemaking, a critical competency for managers that want to alleviate workplace stress and provide clarity so employees can operate at peak efficiency.
The problem is information overload AKA infobesity, infoxication, information anxiety, info glut, and data smog. It’s caused by the sheer quantity of and easy access to information.
In the workplace, people in most roles are inundated with new, different, and conflicting information every day. This has become so prevalent, that we accept it as a normal. But it’s not, and it has serious, negative consequences.
To understand the impact of information overload, we have to consider five realities.
These five realities will help to explain why the negative impacts of information overload need to be taken seriously. Among the adverse reactions to information overload are:
What prevents us from recognizing these negative impacts and addressing infobesity is that we also have FOMO. Our fear of missing out pushes us to pursue more and more information every day and to indulge meaningless pursuits and distractions. (Yes, even cat videos contribute to cognitive shutdowns!)
That’s why we need awareness about infobesity. It’s also why managers need to avoid piling on to information overload and must, instead, become sensemakers.
Sensemaking means making sense of information and inputs so that it can all be synthesized and acted upon. Karl Weick introduced the term in 1995 and described it as the activity that enables us to turn the ongoing complexity in the world into something that can be comprehended quickly and explicitly.
Sensemakers guide others to explore a wider breadth of information and inputs so they can create a map to navigate through it all. They think critically to challenge assumptions and barriers in seeing links between information. They ask questions to promote self-discovery and to identify gaps in assimilating information. And they guide others through the process of deconstructing complexity.
Sensemaking provides context and combats ambiguity. It minimizes the risks associated with unchecked information overload. During times of rapid change, sensemaking helps people make faster transitions because they’re able to understand them better.
Far too often, businesses rely on sensemaking’s counter-competency, “dealing with ambiguity.” Rather than addressing the ambiguity, this competency suggests managers and others should somehow figure out their own ways to operate despite the ambiguity.
Expecting people to deal with ambiguity is a cop-out. Instead of helping them make sense of things, this suggests that they should navigate through information overload and make sound decisions even as things remain ambiguous.
Sensemaking sorts out what’s ambiguous. It connects dots and provides clarity. It’s not a synonym for “analyzing” or “sensing.” Both are involved, but sensemaking is more. It’s taking in what’s known, considering what’s unknown, pulling it all together, and then breaking it back down into manageable chunks that are relevant, important, and meaningful to the task at hand.
Employees want clarity, consistency, and support. They don’t want ambiguity, unnecessary stress, deluges of information that lack context, or uncertainty about how to be successful.
Employees rely on their managers to give them context and remove obstacles. When they don’t get what they need, employee engagement levels nosedive.
Employee engagement is considered the single biggest driver of employee retention and productivity, along with significantly contributing to customer satisfaction and profitability. No business can afford to neglect employee engagement.
Managers are the primary driver of employee engagement. In other words, managers must engage employees. To engage employees, managers must become sensemakers.
Additionally, sensemaking managers can reduce all the adverse impacts of infobesity. Supporting employees by providing context and by refusing to be an information dumper will pay off in employee morale and capabilities. Instead of spinning, employees will have clarity and reasonable expectations when they encounter information and have to consider what’s useful and how much is needed.
Component competencies for sensemaking include critical thinking and communicating effectively. An interest in the big picture is essential. Being able to think about possibilities and how disparate parts might fit together is also useful. In the absence of these abilities, managers should collaborate with other managers to ensure sensemaking of the issues and challenges facing the organization.
To learn more about essential management and leadership competencies, check out the courses on People First Leadership Academy. www.peoplefirstpotential.com