Learning 100: Follow Your Confusion

Imperative Explained

Follow Your Confusion means treating moments of uncertainty as valuable information. “Good” looks like naming confusion early, seeking clarity without hesitation, breaking problems into simpler parts, and asking questions that expose hidden assumptions. Leaders who follow confusion create a culture where learning replaces guessing and clarity replaces rework.
This imperative drives two outcomes: faster problem detection and less rework caused by hidden misunderstandings. When confusion is surfaced early, teams don’t spend weeks executing the wrong work. Leaders model intellectual honesty, and teams align on what’s true before investing effort.

Five Behaviors

• Name confusion early — Surface uncertainty before acting.
  
  
• Ask clarifying questions — Don’t pretend you understand.
  
  
• Break complexity down — Make the problem smaller.
  
  
• Test assumptions — Validate what’s true before moving.
  
  
• Normalize curiosity — Encourage others to seek clarity.
  
  

If You Don’t

Hidden confusion festers. Teams execute on bad assumptions, causing rework, delays, and preventable escalations. Cross-functional partners feel blindsided when unclear work returns for fixes. Cycle time expands, and leaders waste time correcting avoidable misunderstandings. Customer-facing work slows as errors stack up.

If You Do

Execution gets sharper. Problems surface early, and teams move with aligned understanding. KPIs improve: error rates drop, cycle time shortens, and rework decreases meaningfully. Cross-functional relationships strengthen because expectations stay clear and stable. Teams build confidence in naming what they don’t know.

Mini-Case

During a planning meeting, an analyst admitted she didn’t fully understand the dependency chain for an upcoming release. After asking clarifying questions, the team discovered a missing integration step that would have caused a two-week delay. By surfacing confusion early, they fixed the gap, updated the timeline, and delivered on schedule—cutting potential rework dramatically and improving partner trust.

Try It This Week

1. Name one point of confusion out loud.
   
   
2. Ask two clarifying questions in your next meeting.
   
   
3. Break one complex task into smaller steps.
   
   
4. Check three assumptions before proceeding.
   
   
5. Invite your team to flag uncertainty early.

Learn More

Each Learning level tackles a different angle of growth. To sharpen early detection of problems, explore Accountability 200: Make Reality the Boss for grounding decisions in truth and Resilience 200: Lengthen the Pause to slow down reactive thinking. Both complement the discipline of surfacing confusion early.