Uncertainty is a part of life—and business. But how can you lead people when inflections, disruptions, dislocations, and other threat conditions feel like they’re constantly compounding? Try these strategies to help you engage your team under the most tumultuous circumstances.
 
Build trust. In a volatile environment, become a stabilizing force. This means being reliable, predictable, and consistent with your team.
 
Communicate a vision. Paint a picture of the future and inspire others toward it. In times of extreme uncertainty, a vision gives people lasting motivation beyond their survival instinct.
 
Increase honesty and transparency. There’s nothing worse than a leader attempting to create false certainty with rhetoric that doesn’t match reality. Level with your people and don’t make promises you can’t keep.
 
Frame uncertainty as opportunity. Decouple fear from uncertainty and replace it with confidence, curiosity, and anticipation. Turbulent times are a chance for your employees to help reinvent your business—and their place in it.
This tip is adapted from “What Employees Need from Leaders in Uncertain Times,” by Timothy R. Clark.
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