My enemy is not uncertainty.
It is not even my responsibility to remove the uncertainty.
It is my responsibility to bring clarity into the midst of the uncertainty.
Leadership through uncertainty is a skill all leaders should have–nothing is certain, and you will have to bring your team through the unknown if you are to grow your business.
Disaster and uncertainty
I don’t know what the future holds, but we are going to get through it together. On Friday, two days after a natural disaster destroyed my region (and almost took out my home), the division I worked for was disbanded. It was distributed across four other teams scattered throughout the company. On Monday, I was on a plane to meet with my new leadership. Why? Because in uncertain times, my team needed some certainty. Certainty that I would be there sorting out our new direction. Knowing that I would be advocating for them. Certain that I would provide a stable platform for them to cling onto in the chaos of the changing winds of business decision-making.
We all like stability. There is comfort in knowing that our next paycheck is coming and how much it will be, who our boss is and will be tomorrow, and having some idea of what we’ll be working into the future. The truth is, though, that the world guarantees none of this. However, strong, connected leaders can create an island of clarity and calm that transform these uncertainties from incoming disasters into incoming opportunities.
Leadership as an Anchor in the Uncertain Storm
In psychology, there is a concept of co-regulation. Co-regulation is the process by which one helps others regulate their emotions by providing support and modeling calm behaviors and healthy coping strategies. By approaching each new wave of chaos calmly, a strong leader can provide leadership through uncertainty by “co-regulating” with his or her team.
For example, if I have a boss that is constantly running into the room with the latest market swings that could change what we’re working on, I’ll start feeling jerked around. I’ll get horribly burnt out on the prospect that what I’m working on may be useless tomorrow. However, if that same leader follows the latest technology and critically considers where to incorporate new breakthroughs and where they fit our current vision and strategy without interrupting ongoing development, I’m gain energy knowing that we are both achieving our vision and incorporating new and exciting capabilities.
In our next blog on this subject, we’ll cover a few mechanisms for becoming an anchor in the storm for your teams: provide stability in areas you CAN control and provide a vision that serves the customer and community. In the meantime, you can’t help your team co-regulate if you aren’t able to regulate yourself! Read here for more on emotional self-regulation.
Perspective Taking to lead through uncertainty
Perspective taking is the ability to understand and consider another persons thoughts, feelings and experiences. An uncertain environment can feel pressurized. We don’t have the time for thinking about everyone’s perspectives and feelings. I offer that in an an environment where you must lead through uncertainty, we need diverse perspectives and feelings even more. With a wide variety of perspectives, we can emphasize those that are most advantageous in the moment, which might be different from what was most advantageous yesterday.
When my team was disbanded and we were abruptly landed in a new space, we “lost” the previous mission and needed to figure out what our new one was. I reframed this from a “loss” to a “gain.” We didn’t lose anything because the previous organization didn’t have any customers yet. Instead, we were gaining by joining a team with a strong, established business that we could help scale even more. This perspective provided what we humans need the most to jump into action: hope.
In our next blog on this subject, we’ll talk about how to create hope rather than fear in an environment of uncertainty. We will explore how to prime your team for the opportunities that change can create if you are ready to take advantage of them. These include: incorporating the human element in swift decisions; expecting change and priming others to expect change; and refraining from the assumption that what worked yesterday will work tomorrow. In the meantime, try getting outside for a new perspective.
Caring for the Business vs Caring for the Humans
Can you do both? Yes. You will not make everyone happy, but you can treat everyone with respect. My relationships with my coworkers do not need to end at the point one of us leaves the team. This is the fundamental idea around networking. Networks create access – to new jobs, advice, information, and collaboration opportunities. I can treat everyone as a valuable individual regardless of whether changes to the business are optimized for them or not.
In business, we will be forced to make hard decisions. We won’t be in business much longer if we do not make money, provide customers what they want, and are efficient with our resources. Furthermore, good morale also depends on applying the right resources to the right problems, not on how ‘nice’ the manager is. If an employee doesn’t fit the “right resources” category anymore, a good leader will treat them with transparent dignity and guide them through a transition regardless of the outcome. Maybe they can retrain to become a “right resource,” or maybe they should be in another role somewhere else where they will be happier. Either outcome is better than trying to force someone to fit into a role they do not belong in or enjoy.
Balancing due diligence in your business decisions with caring for the impacted humans is delicate. We will cover in the next blog post on skills to exercise leadership through uncertainty. Most importantly, don’t make any promises you can’t keep; communicate clearly, concisely, and compassionately; be transparent, but not wishy-washy; treat everyone with respect; and create space for change. In the meantime, read more about decision-making here.
Taking action to lead through uncertainty
Is your team in a period of uncertainty now? We can help you strengthen your culture-building muscle. Consider a custom professional development program to help your leadership team navigate through turning your culture around. Improve your retention. Increase employee and customer satisfaction. Deliver value. Don’t hesitate to reach out here so we can help you continuously improve.
