Five Strategies for Leading in Uncertain Times

March 10th, 2022

Ann Collins

Uncertainty has been a constant theme in the last two years and now with war in Ukraine and the instability and fear this brings to the world, leaders are once again faced with uncertainty on all fronts from economic indicators to political developments.

Increased levels of stress come on the back of a mental health crisis brought on by Covid and whilst there have been positive spin-offs as leaders have up levelled during the pandemic, the challenge of leading in a time of considerable uncertainty remains real and likely to dominate the foreseeable future.

Leaders need to start with leading themselves: increased self-awareness, reaching out for support and keeping a check on how they are managing their emotions are important. Leaders are focussed on supporting and harnessing the potential of their employees to bring teams and their organisations to through and beyond the current crisis.

Through my work as an Executive Coach and a Leadership Coach, I've seen leaders who are navigating leadership in this difficult time consistently drawing on 5 strategies.

Embrace discomfort

This is the number one strategy that I see leaders using as it allows them to move beyond the inevitable stress that is inherent in the situation. Acknowledging the discomfort to oneself (and others) is a powerful step towards accepting the situation and being able to move forward without getting stuck in despair.

Zoom out to see the detail

For high achieving leaders who gravitate towards "action", they benefit from proactively taking a step back. This can feel counter-intuitive, but taking time to analyse, consider the options and discuss scenarios can pay dividends. In times of crisis, proactively creating space, time to reflect and opportunities to zoom out reduces errors and overwhelm.

Having just come through two years of Covid crisis, it is tempting to feel that we've "done" crisis leadership! Whilst we can draw on those newly honed skills of building resilience and adaptability, we must resist drawing conclusions too quickly.

Focus on what you can control

By focussing on what we can control very concretely, for us and our teams, we can create a bubble of certainty within the uncertainty. This ensures a certain success, builds confidence and momentum.

Making decisions without full information is particularly difficult of course and involves levels of risk that organisations are not used to managing. Knowing what we can control helps leaders and their teams to have more pragmatic discussions.

Build an even stronger team for the future

Leading in tough times creates an opportunity to create exceptional teams, as we have seen these last two years. Listening to team members to their perspectives and ideas creates a fasttrack environment to a stronger team and future leaders with experience. Furthermore, it challenges current leaders to continue to develop their leadership skills and to be creative and experimental. This can provide an open door to a change in culture and mindset, which provides a solid base for the future.

Connect

If a growth mindset is a key part of the puzzle, so is the ability for leaders to meaningfully connect with their teams and colleagues. Supporting the development of open, collaborative, supportive yet challenging relationships brings energy to a team and an ability to increase the impact of individuals. People feel included, visible and heard and we know that this reduces stress.

What does that look like in practice?

When peopke feel that they belong and feel visible, heard and that they matter, they are happy to engage in challenging discussions. They are good at solving complex problems together, they enjoy debating, they are naturally curious and importantly ready to concede their idea should a better one arise. There are no winners and losers. The contribution of the team is greater than the contribution of each person!

Finally, communicate hope

Hope and a vision for the future is the goal of these strategies, but it's also about continuing to reinforce trust when the world is being shaken. The world needs leaders with cool heads and compassionate hearts.