Leading through uncertainty

I'm seeing a dangerous trend around toxic positivity right now in companies as they ask people to stay productive in times of uncertainty

I get it - work still needs to be done and we need to stay productive

So how do we move things forward when everything in unclear and acknowledge the uncertainty?

It's one of the questions I get asked a lot right now by leaders so I wanted to share this short video about a tool I use when coaching leaders and their teams called "Embrace the suck"

It's a tool from the military and one that I think translates well into the corporate world because so much of navigating uncertainty is about leaning into the discomfort and then building some flex into our ways of thinking so we can continue to progress

It's a good mental reset that says "yes this sucks right now, so what's the best way I can lead through it?"

Some simple steps to use this with your teams:

Acknowledge the reality
“This is hard. It’s stressful. It’s messy. But this is the reality we’re in right now.”

“I don’t have control over everything, but I can control how I respond.”

With that acceptance, you:

👉 Focus on what can be done today using the small, concrete steps that move things forward, even if imperfectly

👉 Communicate transparently with your team about what’s known and unknown to reduce anxiety

👉 Prioritize self-care and realistic goal-setting to avoid burnout

👉 Use setbacks or frustrations as learning points, asking, “What’s this situation teaching us?”

We can't change the uncertainty but we can move through it with humanity and resilience. We can grow stronger from it

#Resilience #Resilience 2.0 #leadership #teamperformance #change #uncertainty