An Honest Q&A About Leading Through Uncertainty
Plus, coming up in December: your leadership challenges, based on your personality type.
Coming Up Next Month: What Challenges Do You Face as a Leader?
Ever wonder why certain leadership situations feel harder for you than they seem to be for others? Or why you keep hitting the same walls no matter how hard you try? Your personality type has a lot to do with it.
Next month, we’re taking a break from our regular format to deliver something different: 16 type-specific articles that dive deep into the leadership obstacles each personality type faces. You’ll discover what’s likely tripping you up, why it keeps happening, and – most importantly – what to do about it.
Plus, you’ll get insight into how your colleagues and friends might be struggling in completely different ways.
Watch for a NEW Leadership Challenges series coming in December! Be sure you’re subscribed to participate.
An Honest Q&A About Leading Through Uncertainty
Over the course of our 5-day Leading Through Uncertainty Challenge, you learned how to stay calm under pressure, take accountability for what you consume, focus on your three-foot world, prepare for the worst, and understand your coping style.
You’ve built real tools now – the kind that help when everything feels unpredictable.
But maybe you’re sitting here thinking: “Okay, I understand all this conceptually. But what do I actually do when I’m standing in front of my team and they’re looking to me for answers I don’t have?”
Or maybe you’re wondering: “What happens when I make the wrong call? How do I recover from that?”
These questions get to the heart of the messy, practical, in-the-moment stuff that lives in the gap between self-awareness and action.
So let’s talk through some of them today. Grab your tea (or coffee) and let’s dive in!
“How do I maintain my team’s trust when my decisions during uncertainty turn out to be wrong?”
Okay, here’s the thing – you’ve got to own it. Like, actually own it. Not the “well, we did our best given the circumstances” kind of ownership. The real kind.
Say it plainly: “I made the call to pause hiring based on what I knew then. That decision cost us the candidate we needed. Here’s what I missed.”
And then – this is the part that actually rebuilds trust – tell them (or better yet, show them!) what you’re doing differently now. Your team needs to see that you learn from your mistakes and adjust.
The leaders who lose trust aren’t the ones who make bad calls under pressure. We all do that from time to time. It’s the ones who dig in and defend those calls instead of admitting “yeah, I got that one wrong.”
“How much transparency is too much when sharing uncertainty with my team?”
Think of it this way: share the facts, skip the speculation.
Tell your team what you know, what you don’t know, and when you expect to know more. Something like: “Leadership hasn’t finalized the restructure plan. They’ve committed to sharing it by month-end. Until then, here’s what we’re focusing on.”
What you don’t share? Your 3am catastrophizing. All the terrible scenarios you’ve imagined. Your speculation about worst-case outcomes that may never happen. Your team doesn’t need to live through your entire internal freak-out in real time.
Not sure whether to share something? Ask yourself: “Does this information actually help my team make better decisions or take better action right now?” If not, it’s probably best to keep it to yourself.
“How do I keep my team motivated and productive when uncertainty drags on for months?”
This one’s tough because long-term uncertainty is exhausting. But here’s what might help:
Break time into smaller chunks. When the future feels like a fog, narrow everyone’s focus to this week, not this quarter.
Create visible progress wherever you can. When people can’t see the finish line, they need to see something moving forward. Celebrate completed projects. Acknowledge improvements. Mark milestones that would normally go unnoticed.
And look, just name the reality without making it heavier. “This sucks. We’re all tired of not knowing what’s next. What I can control is making sure your work matters and you get recognized for it while we’re waiting this out.”
Also, try to protect your team’s energy. Say no to unnecessary meetings and random initiatives. Uncertainty is already draining – don’t pile more work on top of it if you can help it.
“How do I lead through uncertainty when I’m also dealing with my own job insecurity?”
Oof. This is a heavy one. I think the best thing to do here is compartmentalize.
Update your resume on your own time. Network during lunch or after hours. Build your backup plan privately. Then show up fully present for your team during work hours.
If you don’t do this and you show up mentally checked out, your team’s going to sense it. They won’t know why, but they’ll know something’s up. It’s completely reasonable for you to be job searching, just don’t do it on your team’s time or let it compromise how you lead right now.
Plus, think about it: leading well through uncertainty is exactly the skill that makes you valuable anywhere. Every day you show up with clarity and presence, you’re building the reputation that carries you forward – whether that’s staying in your current role or landing your next one.
These questions don’t have perfect answers because leading through uncertainty isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being present, honest, and intentional even when you don’t have all the answers.
I hope this Q&A gave you some concrete starting points for those messy moments when theory meets reality.
Next up: The Leading Through Uncertainty series continues! We’ll look at how Judging and Prospecting leaders are likely to react when uncertainty hits – what strengths they bring, what blind spots might get in their way, and how they can stretch to meet the needs of their team.