This blog was written together with Dr. Jana Hohnsbehn. What makes a great leader? Confidence? Decisiveness? A firm stance? Many decisions are complex and involve competing priorities, conflicting information, and trade-offs. In these cases, leaders may feel ambivalent — and expressing that may actually be a strength.

Ambivalence encourages us to consider a wider range of information, promoting balance in the decision-making process and reducing one-sided thinking. When we experience ambivalence, we are aware of both the positive and negative aspects of our options, which helps us see the pros and cons of each option more clearly.

Ambivalence refers to the experience of having both positive and negative thoughts and feelings about the same object, person, or issue. Traditionally, ambivalence has been seen as a negative phenomenon, leading to indecision. However, in recent work, we show that ambivalence can positively affect judgment and decision-making processes.