The Power of Doubt

Questions for more purposeful and equitable organisations

Back in 2022, we began an exploration of doubt. Our initial questioning was about ourselves, colleagues, friends, and networks. Why were some people able to advocate, make decisions, and take positions with such great certainty – sometimes an aggravating amount of certainty? And, why were others (including ourselves) less willing or able to do so?

As our conversation developed, we started to become interested in doubt less as something that was oriented towards the self (doubting yourself, your beliefs, and convictions) and more as something within the very fabric of organisations (perhaps an institutional capability to appreciate and benefit from reflection). We grew increasingly curious about how doubt operates as a social process, forming part of the constructive and destructive dynamics within the work environment. We were both lucky and surprised to be able to engage others in our exploration, and were delighted when over twenty leaders, primarily in the non-profit sector, volunteered to be interviewed on the subject. These interviews surfaced illuminating Doubt Stories, which inspired a survey of nearly 100 more Doubters, about the ways doubt is practised in their organisations.

In this paper, we’re sharing some of our early findings, hypotheses, and ongoing questions. Even though our journey is just beginning, we’ve reached a place of certainty through this work – that there is so much more to explore at The Doubt Club.