Right now, we are all living in the midst of uncertainty. We don’t know the when, the how, the why of so many things in life. When will we return to “normal?” How will this crisis impact my employment, my family? How can I best lead my team in these times?
We don’t have the answers. I don’t have all of the answers. Thankfully...
Leadership is not about having all of the answers.
Leading in times of uncertainty, leading when you don’t know what to do...it’s tough! I won’t pretend it isn’t. In fact, times like these are among the most stressful things that leaders can endure.
But there’s hope. We can still lead well when we don’t have the answers.
5 Ways Great Leaders Tackle Uncertainty
Uncertainty doesn’t have to come from a global health crisis. It could be that you simply don’t know how to handle the latest challenge that your team faces. Whatever the case may be, leaders can take the following steps to optimize leadership effectiveness:
1) Acknowledge your shortcomings.
Leaders are not experts in everything. We don’t have all the know-how or the answers to tackle every challenge that comes our way. The first step in effective leadership while facing uncertainty is to acknowledge where you fall short. There are areas of my life in which I am certainly not an expert!
When I recognize this, it’s time to reach out to someone who is. Don’t “fake it til you make it” when it comes to the important things in life. Recognize what you don’t know and lean into the task of finding the answer.
2) Mind the experts.
That brings us here: relying on experts. Now, it’s true that there are situations that simply don’t have a “right” answer. We have to use our own judgment, our own conscience, and good reasoning to come to our conclusions. So many times, however, we can lean on the wisdom of experts. Find a mentor or someone that has weathered the same storm. Look to other successful businesses and ventures.
Experts are experts for a reason. They know their stuff! If you don’t know what to do, you can find out — or at least find the right direction. Listening to and turning to experts only comes after we acknowledge the gaps in our knowledge and understanding.
This is why teams are so effective — they bring together diverse skill sets and knowledge to optimize results. Don’t just use experts, but utilize your team well!
3) Target your priorities.
When facing uncertainty, it’s critical to keep your eyes on your goals. When you don’t know how to proceed, it can turn a temporary roadblock into a consuming fixation. So many times it can turn into a “sunk cost” fallacy, in which we do whatever it takes to overcome a challenge regardless of its relation or impact on the rest of our work and resources.
Keep your priorities in check. These priorities may shift over time, but it’s valuable to revisit, rework, and recognize these priorities on a regular basis. Great leadership is focused leadership. Know what you want to accomplish not just today, not just through a crisis, but for the long-term wellbeing of your team.
4) Ask what others need.
Too many leaders are looking to answer the questions that no one asked. The goal of leadership is not to self-aggrandize. The goal of leadership is to bring out the best in others, to channel and focus their potential into success. What does your team need from you? They might not need the answers to the big questions. Perhaps they want encouragement and reassurance. Perhaps they need you to be a focusing, driving force in the middle of chaos.
Great leadership addresses the needs of others — so listen well.
5) Be Courageous, be smart.
Great leaders do not shrink from a challenge. We have to be courageous in uncertain times. Failure is not something to be feared. Quitting, changing direction, and reassessing? That’s not failure, either. Failure presents growth opportunities. However, we should not look to fail. While strength can come from failure, we must be smart about it.
Manage your risk well. Investigate the facts. Tackle the problem from all angles. Sometimes, all you can do is go with your gut — just be well-aware of the risk and what you intend to do about it. Being courageous is not being rash or impulsive. It is to be smart and decisive, even when you face the unknown.
What are your top tips in leading during a crisis? Share your experiences in the comments.