Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Diane Parks, Facilitator and Coach, MOR Associates. Diane may be reached at [email protected] or via LinkedIn.
Over the past several months, many of the higher education leaders I coach have voiced a growing concern: how to guide their teams through the ambiguity and pressure created by today’s shifting political climate. As funding models evolve, policy debates intensify, and institutional priorities shift, leaders are being called to respond to disruption on multiple fronts.
During my time as a VP of Learning and Development in the Healthcare industry, I found that leading through disruptive change was two-fold: how to remain grounded and effective in my own leadership while also supporting my team and staying strategically agile.
Balancing these responsibilities is a familiar tension. Time and experience have taught me that navigating complexity requires clarity, intentionality, and resilience. Still, I often reflect on how valuable it would have been to have access earlier in my career to the structured practices and leadership frameworks that I later found through the MOR program. These tools accelerate growth and build the leadership muscle required to guide others through turbulent times.
Now more than ever, leading through disruptive change effectively requires more than managing tasks—it demands the ability to support people as whole individuals while leveraging their collective insights to chart a path forward. It’s an “and” equation: support your people and lead with strategic focus.
Here are five key practices that helped me (and could help you) do both:
1. Communicate Transparently and Frequently
In the absence of information, people often assume the worst. Uncertainty breeds anxiety—and silence can feel like abandonment.
- Share updates regularly, even when the news is incomplete or evolving. Be candid about what you know, what you don’t know, and what you’re working to find out. A simple statement like, “Here’s what we’re doing and why,” can go a long way.
- If you don’t yet have an answer, be honest and commit to following up. If you do have information that can’t be shared yet, say so—clearly and respectfully—and provide a timeframe when you can revisit the conversation.
2. Reinforce Purpose and Values
During times of disruption, your team’s connection to mission and values can serve as an anchor.
- Remind your team how their work contributes to a broader purpose. For example: student success, accessibility, research advancement, knowledge preservation, or faculty support.
- Help them zoom out to zoom in and see the connection between daily tasks and long-term institutional goals.
- Consistently communicate the team’s strategic priorities and progress. Tools like the Strategic Priorities Worksheet can clarify focus amid competing demands and help people see the impact of their work.
3. Create Space for Listening and Dialogue
When people feel heard, trust deepens—and trust is essential in uncertain times.
- Build time into meetings for check-ins. Ask open questions like, “What’s weighing on you?” or “Where do you need more clarity or support?”
- Recognize contributions and coach in real time. Acknowledge where people are making an impact and offer feedback to help them improve or re-center their efforts.
- Use the “three H’s” framework to gauge what your team needs in a moment of uncertainty: Do you want me to Hear you, Help you, or Handle this?
4. Lead Strategically, Not Just Reactively
When demands increase and clarity decreases, it’s easy to get stuck in the weeds. Now is the time to stay on the balcony.
- Balance day-to-day problem-solving with long-term thinking. Help your team prioritize what will matter six months from now—not just six hours from now.
- Take a leading–managing–doing inventory. What should you delegate? Where can you develop others? Are you focusing on the highest-value work only you can do?
- Apply the Three Lenses—strategic design, political, and cultural—to anticipate ripple effects and inform your decisions.
5. Put On Your Own Mask First
You cannot lead others well if you’re depleted or disconnected from your own needs or driven by what’s in front of you from moment to moment.
- Regularly align with your leader and confirm shared priorities, especially as goals shift. Focus on the important.
- Use “defensive calendaring” to protect time for strategic thinking and planning, and team support.
- Prioritize sleep, exercise, nutrition, and boundaries. This isn’t a sprint—it’s a marathon. Sustainable leadership begins with self-care. Managing stress is within your control.
A Final Thought
There’s a proverb that says: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Today, in higher education, we’re being asked to go fast and far amid a constantly shifting landscape. The only way to do both is to build strong teams, lead them with clarity and care, and invest in your own resilience as a leader.
As a leader navigating uncertainty and leading through disruptive change, where are you currently feeling the greatest need for support or focus?
Last week, we asked what strategies for leading in uncertain times are working within your teams or areas of responsibility:
- 50% said transparent communication
- 31% said strategic focus
- 9% collaboration and partnership
- 5% said metrics that matter
- 5% said modeling self-care and preventing burnout
Strategy matters. Communication really matters. Transparent, clear, and frequent communication about our priorities and financial realities builds trust and fosters commitment. It is better to share when we don’t know something and are working on it, rather than remain silent. Don’t forget to lead with the “Why.” To be strategic and focus on the important, not just the immediate, intentionally prioritize initiatives that align with strengths and long-term vision.