“… Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason…”
– John Keats, poet, 1817

I first came across the term ‘Negative Capability’ in Brené Brown’s 2025 book, Strong Ground. First recorded as used by the poet John Keats in a letter to his relatives in 1817, it’s the capability to sit in uncertainty – rather than come to an immediate conclusion about a topic or person; to stay curious and continue exploring to understand the situation, idea or human more fully. It is an invitation to resist the bias coined by behavioural scientist Daniel Kahneman in 2011, WYSIATI: ‘What you see is all there is.’ Don’t just look at the tip of iceberg and think you’ve got the full picture.

In March 2026, Harvard Business Review published an article about cultivating negative capability by Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg, Adjunct Professor of Leadership at IMD Business School. She posited that as leaders globally try to navigate volatility and uncertainty, one response can be to withdraw from decision-making and the emotional labour of leadership. Wedell-Wedellsborg writes:

“Under sustained threat and uncertainty, people tend to regress, temporarily stepping back to earlier, less complex modes of functioning. This is not pathology. It is adaptive. But it has consequences. Leaders under this chronic pressure cannot simply “be resilient.” Instead, they tend to become more rigid, more reactive, and more black-and-white in their thinking. They oscillate between passivity (“I can’t deal with this now”) and control (“We need tighter rules, more discipline, less debate”). Both are defensive strategies against a deeper fear: that one’s actions no longer matter.

… often, this retreat takes the form of indecision, cancelled commitments, difficult emails ghosted, or missed deadlines that grind projects to a halt… it can impact the leader’s tone from the top: the urgency, energy, and excitement that propel teams forward feels muted or gives way to an oddly bland vibe… as the external and internal pressure to “do something” becomes unbearable, what often follows are bursts of symbolic action and random gestures: sudden restructurings, compulsive pivots, or an escalation of micromanagement without a compelling “why.”

These moves are not signs of decisiveness. They are signs of a leader grasping for agency. When they act at all, leaders in withdrawal resort to what they know and try to fix the problems of past with tools that feel familiar. What they should be doing is face up to a new reality and engage in the hard work of adapting their own ways and means first—a personal leadership reset.

The basis for such a reset is what psychologists call negative capability…  is the ability to lead and function when the map no longer matches the terrain, when the normal rules no longer apply, and when facts and reason are suspended.” Source

To develop negative capability, Wedell-Wedellsborg recommends eight moves leaders could take, and I’ve paired them with coaching questions, which could be used as personal reflections or team discussions:

1. Redraw the map: “Here is what has changed. Here is what has not.”
Coaching Questions: What has changed? What has not?

2. Normalise volatility: “We are unsettled. We are not broken.”
Coaching Question: What wisdom did I/we gain from navigating volatility in the past?

3. Create anchors: “Here is what we can count on.”
Coaching Questions: What helps me/us stay grounded and resourceful?

4. Foster negative capability in others: “This will not pass. We might as well get used to it.”
Coaching Questions: What changes are here to stay? What are the gritty facts?

5. Co-pilot rather than empower: “You are not alone. We are in it together.”
Coaching Question: What does support look like?

6. Break patterns: “We must look, listen, and act differently.”
Coaching Questions: What does my/our new playbook look like? What are the 5Cs (context, colour, connective tissue, cost, consequence) of our current reality?

7. Make it playful: “We must try new ways.”
Coaching Questions: What experiments are you/we curious to try? What opportunities does disruption make possible?

8. Monitor habits: “Suppose a miracle happened…” borrowed from solution-focused therapy: “Suppose a miracle happened and you woke up tomorrow and something essential had shifted. What would be the very first small sign that you were back in motion?”
Coaching Question: What might a small positive/empowered shift look/feel/sound like? What would I/we be feeling/saying/doing that I’m/we’re not doing now?

Leadership isn’t about having all the answers, but rather being able to read the signals for conversation, change and adaptation. As Wedell-Wedellsborg writes:

In practice, negative capability means holding contradictory data, unresolved tensions, and contending stakeholders simultaneously without being frustrated by lack of coherence—and without constructing an unwarranted narrative of coherence. Leaders with high negative capability are not steadier because they know more. They are steadier because they can tolerate not knowing without collapsing into avoidance or coercion.” Source

Take the pause. Engage in reflection. Have the courage to shift.

Article Summary:

Amid rising volatility and uncertainty, leaders are increasingly withdrawing, or fighting an urge to withdraw, from decision-making and the emotional labor of leadership – or even from the belief that their effort still matters. This psychological withdrawal, defined as “pullback driven by lost illusions and a feeling of disempowerment,” causes leaders to become more rigid, more reactive, and more black-and-white in their thinking. They oscillate between passivity (“I can’t deal with this now”) and control (“We need tighter rules, more discipline, less debate”). Neither serves their organizations. Instead, leaders need to develop negative capability—the ability to lead and function when the map no longer matches the terrain, when the normal rules no longer apply, and when facts and reason are suspended. Then, they can use eight moves to counter withdrawal throughout their organizations. | Read here