Walking Naked In The Land of Uncertainty

After my post about the nudist church, I bet you're thinking that I have "naked" on the brain with the title of this post. However, the title of the post comes from a book that I've been reading where the author states that leaders must "walk naked in the land of uncertainty."

Once the shock of that image is out of your mind, go deeper with me into what the author is saying.

So many times as leaders when we hit the bumps of uncertainty and change in our organizations we tend to rely on past experiences, past skills, and past successes to get us through the waters. That works--sometimes. However there are those occasions where the situations requires new thinking and a new approach those matters. It is in those moments that Robert Quinn says that the leader must be able to "walk naked in the land of the uncertain"---meaning that he walks in with no defenses and no preconceived ideas of how to approach the matter and makes his own path through the waters.

Quinn states in these moments the leader enters a "Fundamental State of Leadership" wherein the leader is outwardly focused, inwardly driven, purposeful and authentic. That may sound like a tall order to fill in one setting, but Quinn says it's the natural response when the leader becomes the learner and the leader grows inwardly as he leads outwardly.

What do you think? Is it possible to "walk naked in the land of uncertainty?" Is that the normal response of a leader? Or is our natural response to return to the comfort zone and lead from there we've led before? I'd love to hear your thoughts.