As I talk to leaders across the country, it is clear that navigating uncertainty is a common theme. Financial pressures, AI and technical expectations, political divides, demographic shifts, leadership transitions, and the accelerating pace of change – any one of these would be enough to wrestle with, never mind the reality of facing them all at once.
Waiting is not a strategy
It would be easy to stay in waiting mode, to see who will step in to point us in the right direction. In fact, we have many organizational norms and decision structures that have hardened systems of waiting. When navigating uncertainty, waiting can feel like the safe alternative. But there is risk in waiting; we give up control in waiting, we yield direction, and the world misses out on our influence.
Most people I work with, at any level within an organization, can see the opportunities and challenges to progress and improve. And it is one of the great joys of this work to see the “aha” when they realize it needs to be them to move the needle forward, leading from where they are. This, in multiples, is what we need right now, to meet the demands of the current context, and things to come, shifting from waiting to acting.
Two primary ingredients are needed:
- Choose to engage (how does matter).
- Evolve the environment (to be more open to #1).
We all have a role in both.
Choose to engage
Make the decision. You will step further in. Start small if you must, but start. We need your leadership. Here are a few small ways to get started:
- Carve out time to think about trends and their implications for your institution and work. Scenario plan on where you see things going.
- Gain perspective from others. Inquire about what they see and where they think things are going.
- Connect the dots from your group’s work, division, institution, and the needs of the world around it.
- Study the landscape, see how work travels and gets done. We can influence some working norms, we still need to operate within a bigger structure. Just having a good idea won’t be enough.
- Invest in relationships. Build a peer leadership community. Moving things forward with others is more powerful than trying to move them alone.
- Do the homework, and raise your hand.
Evolving the environment
In three recent conversations with CIOs, they’ve shared with me frustration in a desire to see more strategic initiative, but rather, have observed a lack of initiative to pursue improvement opportunities, learned helplessness in driving change, and limitations for team members to ‘lead from where they are.’ A common thread is cultural norms that dictate and drive behaviors. The fear that exists in raising your hand or voice to contribute needs to be overcome with what is at stake if we don’t act. We can evolve the culture and influence the norms within our circle of influence. With success, they will spread. Here are a few things that can knock on the door of this evolution:
- Know where you are going, even as it evolves. Communicate that often. And lay out what the priorities are in that path (and thus, what are not the priorities). Whether you are the top organizational leader or an individual contributor, this clarifies direction and where others can engage.
- Set the stage. Ask, inquire, and invite others to engage. If you are not intentionally including others’ voices, you are likely accidentally missing out on gaining needed perspective.
- Back the words up with actions. This is where I see the biggest disconnect. The reinforcing norms and behaviors that reward sharing perspective, taking initiative, and truly leading from where one is are not as strong as the influences that can hold people back. To evolve this, take intentional action and start where you are. Listen, inquire, say thank you for ideas, follow up, let people run with experiments, create guardrails where needed, and make learning from mistakes part of the job.
I’m not suggesting any of this work is easy. But navigating uncertainty requires it, and it is needed now. How will you respond?
Now what? What effort will most aid your impact?
Last week, we asked which leadership practice can most improve cybersecurity with your team.
- 71% said connect security to the mission
- 13% said make room for a pause
- 7% said ask what is getting in the way
- 5% said normalize reporting
- 4% said model the basics
Why. Such a powerful motivator. Whether it is cybersecurity, engaging with uncertainty, or other leadership successes, it goes a long way to help people understand why. Connect the work to the mission. What is one way you can better connect your team’s priorities to the mission?