Cathy Hoy investigates why competency-based L&D falls short when uncertainty, not skill, blocks performance. Drawing on Sam Conniff and Katherine Templar Lewis’s new book The Uncertainty Toolkit, she highlights evidence from UCL research, practical exercises and new metrics for tolerance. The aim is to shift teams from threat to challenge.
Book: The Uncertainty Toolkit
Authors: Sam Conniff and Katherine Templar Lewis
For years, learning and development has been built on competency; we spot a gap, design a course, and measure if people can now do the thing. But what happens when the gap isn’t about skill at all, and what’s really holding people back is a paralysing reaction to the unknown?
Sam and Katherine argue that our traditional approach to resilience is failing
In their current UK bestselling book, The Uncertainty Toolkit, authors Sam Conniff (Co founder of the Uncertainty Experts and bestselling author of Be More Pirate) and Katherine Templar Lewis (cognitive scientist and co-founder of the Uncertainty Experts), argue that our traditional approach to resilience is failing. This is an L&D blueprint for re-engineering a modern workforce!
The core principle: Uncertainty as a skill
This premise is grounded in a multi-year research programme with the University College London (UCL), which treats uncertainty not only as an external condition to be managed, but as an internal state that can be trained.
A crucial distinction is between change (what happens to us) and uncertainty (how we experience it). Change can be planned for, uncertainty cannot. But our response to it can be strengthened.
For the L&D practitioner, I feel the most vital takeaway is the shift from Productivity to Possibility. While most corporate training focuses on narrowing focus to achieve efficiency, The Uncertainty Toolkit provides a framework to widen focus when things go wrong, helping people think more broadly rather than reactively under pressure. The authors explore the ‘shadow values’, which are the often-unspoken fears and drivers that block innovation. They offer practical ways to move teams from a ‘threat’ state to a ‘challenge’ state, reframing moments of disruption as opportunities for learning rather than failure.
Why L&D leaders should care
The book is particularly useful for those responsible for leadership development and organisational culture, for several reasons:
- Science-backed metrics: Sam and Katherine don’t just use anecdotes; they use an uncertainty tolerance scale to measure and track how people respond to the unknown. For L&D leaders struggling to measure the value of so-called ‘soft’ (or power) skills, this book offers a window into how we can quantify a team’s ability to pivot under pressure
- The end of resilience fatigue: We have exhausted our employees with the message to ‘bounce back.’ This toolkit suggests we should instead ‘bounce forward’. It reframes uncertainty as the essential ingredient for creativity and growth!
- Practicality over theory: Each chapter is designed with exercises ready-made for integration into existing leadership programmes or team building offsites; tools that are immediately usable rather than abstract concepts
The toolkit in action
The book covers core principles and useful tools, which I feel are particularly relevant for L&D leaders:
- Introducing techniques to recognise the ‘amygdala hijack’ in real time
- Offering cognitive reframing tools to help leaders consider multiple outcomes instead of defaulting to the ‘worst-case’ scenario
- Setting out strategies for maintaining high performance, even when the roadmap disappears
Importantly, the book also removes moral judgement from uncertainty. Struggle is not framed as weakness or failure, but as predictable human response – one that can be understood, normalised and trained.
In a world of constant AI disruption and economic shocks, helping people learn how to think in a crisis is fast becoming more valuable than simply training them what to do next.
The Uncertainty Toolkit is a timely and practical resource that pushes L&D leaders and professionals to move beyond providing answers and instead build the capability to operate confidently, and humanely, when there are none.
CLO100 will be exploring this book in detail with its author, Sam Conniff, at their first-ever Breakfast Book Club on Friday 4th February 2026.
