3 Tips for Leading in the Midst of Uncertainty

Whether it’s a changing market dynamic, a resignation from a senior leader, COVID-19, or a yet-to-be-determined presidential election winner, leading in the midst of uncertainty can be quite a challenge. At times, the uncertainty is limited to within your company walls or perhaps within your particular department or team. Other times, the uncertainty is felt nationwide or even worldwide.

It can be challenging enough to deal with uncertainty in one area. However, as we all know with so much uncertainty in so many areas this year, the stress can be heightened by having one uncertainty after another piled on top of each other.

Employees want answers. They look to their leaders for stability and security. They want to know what’s going on and what to expect next. That’s no small task especially when you as the leader are in the midst of all the uncertainty yourself. You have your own set of questions with no answers. You’re trying to determine what step to take next, and you don’t know how everything is going to turn out.

What can you do? How can you help your employees to deal with the dynamic of uncertainty? When we’re in the midst of all of this stress, it’s important to simplify where we can. So, here are 3 tips for leading in the midst of uncertainty.

1. Be visible.

As much as you may want to sneak into your office early and close the door to avoid getting a million questions, don’t. Being an absent leader will just create more stress and anxiety among your employees (and more for you too since you know you’ll have to face everyone sometime). Walk around, say hello, ask people how they’re doing. Remember that your demeanor is incredibly important. If you look stressed and anxious, your employees will be too. If you appear calm, that can be contagious as well. For remote teams, keep in mind that they need your “visibility” just as much if not more, so be intentional about rounding regularly to keep them engaged.

2. Be transparent.

Communication is vital. This cannot be overstated. Communicate, give a status update, and then do it again. In the absence of information, people fill in the gaps themselves. What’s created is never accurate, and you don’t want your employees doing this. Share as much of your knowledge as you can, and provide the facts. While it’s helpful to identify the things you don’t know, focus your communication on the things you do know. Knowing the reality of where you are and what’s happening now can provide reassurance and help employees feel grounded, even if the next step is uncertain.

Assure your employees you’ll be updating them regularly. Depending on the situation, you may even want to begin providing daily or weekly updates that your employees can depend on. While answering some questions individually is fine, be aware of information that everyone will need to know. You want to avoid the game of telephone. When it comes to important topics that affect the group, provide those answers to the entire group so that you can control the message and everyone receives the information at the same time.

Take care to avoid proclaiming false promises or guarantees. As much as you may want your employees to feel better (and possibly make your message a little sweeter), it’s wrong to be dishonest, and it makes things worse to make absolute statements that may not actually happen. If your company is experiencing financial strains, don’t promise that no one’s going to lose their jobs. Let your employees know the situation, that you’re looking at all kinds of ways to manage the budget, and that your goal is to avoid layoffs.

3. Be productive.

In reality, there’s always an amount of uncertainty in life. We can plan all we want, but we don’t truly know what will happen in the next minute or week or month until it actually does. We’ve become accustomed to this kind of uncertainty in our everyday to the point where it feels normal. However, when new or extraordinary uncertainty arises, it can leave us feeling paralyzed. Even if we can’t fix everything, though, there are still things within our control that we can do to make progress in some way.

Focus yourself and your employees on what you can do. Determine those things that are within your control and within your responsibility, and spend your time being productive in those areas. Going back to the company with financial strains, rather than having employees feel helpless while senior leaders make all the decisions, involve them in the solutions. Ask them to review their own department budgets to determine where to make cuts or to provide suggestions to senior leaders. If you find the topic causing uncertainty is completely outside of your control, focus your employees to work out that nervous energy on other ways to make a difference. Maybe it’s not your job to count presidential election ballots, but you do have hospital patients who are relying on you to care for their wellbeing, and that work still matters – a lot.

When leading during uncertainty, you won’t have all the answers, and that’s okay. Take things one step at a time. Leading in the midst of uncertainty isn’t easy, but you can help provide a sense of stability and security to your employees through your visibility, your transparent communication, and your productivity on what’s within your control. And, of course, eat a lot of chocolate.

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