Reflection Point – Leading through change and uncertainty

Maybe it’s the time of year, maybe just a coincidence.  But a lot of leaders I’m working with are grappling with change and uncertainty in their organisational environments.  I’m seeing evidence of it also firsthand in my Global and Regional voluntary leadership roles.  What am I noticing most?  In the absence of information and overt communication, noise increases.  Noise of the unhelpful kind – rumours, hearsay, what I would call the spreading of fear without any concrete base.  It is unsettling and creates more fear, and more uncertainty.

I also notice leaders leaning out, instead of leaning in.  They move into their own fear spiral, batten down the hatches.  They stop communicating regularly with their teams.  In the absence of more clarifying information, there is no or very little communication.  I say this without judgement – it is often our own protective mechanisms that create it and I understand how it feels!  This is exactly what Adaptive Leadership research describes — when uncertainty rises, leaders often retreat into technical or protective behaviours rather than staying present with the adaptive challenge.

And yet the very things that we stop doing are often what are most needed.  In the absence of information from the top, we communicate what we do know.  We keep our regular communication and team rhythms so we can support each other through the uncertainty.  In the absence of a clear path in the future, we keep moving forward and taking the steps that we can.

We look for the certainty within the uncertainty – what do I know is true, that needs to continue and to keep moving forward?  We ask for the certainty we do have and can communicate downwards.  In the absence of information, we find the information we do know to be true and that can reassure.  We communicate what we know, and be open about what we don’t know.  We are honest and transparent where we are able.  We of course honor and respect what we can’t share, and we hold this closely with respect and integrity in support of the organisation.  As much as we can in the degree of change that is ensuing, we aim to walk alongside and not apart from those we lead.  We provide support within all the challenge, we reassure, we continue with BAU and get on with delivery of the services and work we provide and provide a level of focus with what we can.

We can also manage ourselves and our own fears by proactively supporting ourselves with the tools, resources and habits that serve us well to be at our best.  In change, we know that stress levels can rise and our reactive can be on higher alert.  We consciously move one day at a time, supporting ourselves as well as our teams, to support wellbeing through what can be difficult and challenging times.  We acknowledge what is, we are confident in what we know and we share this confidence with others.

Leading through change and uncertainty is not easy. There is no one right way, no simple formula to leading through such complexity. But the very strengths that serve us well in our leadership in BAU should continue to serve ourselves and others that we lead through consistency of behaviours, continuity in the disruption and certainty in the uncertainty, even if that certainty is low. We have an opportunity to lead well through every season of business and organisational life – we just have to refocus and find it for ourselves and others, even in the “seasons of grey”. As Adaptive Leadership research reminds us, our role is not to eliminate uncertainty, but to stay present, connected and steady within it.

Take a few moments at the end of your week to consider and reflect upon the following questions.

Question 1

What are the rhythms that support you to lead well in BAU that get forgotten or dropped when uncertainty rises?

Question 2

How do you create ‘certainty within the uncertainty’ for those that you lead?

Question 3

Which elements of adaptive leadership — staying present, connected and steady — feel most important for you to lean into right now?