During a recent workshop, an executive lamented feeling like he was treading water. Another jumped in, sharing that playing “the waiting game” was taking a toll on his team. Others quickly piled on, amplifying the general sense of frustration they felt given current business conditions. The culprit? Uncertainty.
There’s no denying that today’s workplace is a masterclass in unpredictability. Shifting markets, evolving employee expectations, and emerging technologies mean that certainty, once a hallmark of strong leadership, is increasingly rare. Yet, my client’s employees (and likely yours as well) still look to leaders for steadiness. So how can today’s leaders meet that demand without pretending to have answers they don’t? How can they offer clarity without false confidence? How can they cultivate trust even when the path ahead is still unfolding?
The answer lies not in eliminating uncertainty, but in managing it skillfully and strategically. Effective leaders understand that uncertainty isn’t going anywhere, so waiting it out isn’t an option. Instead, they’re learning to work it out — engaging with it, learning from it and helping others embrace rather than resist it as well. And you can too with these three strategies.
Shift from “wait and see” to “pulse and pivot”
One of the most damaging responses to uncertainty is paralysis. Waiting until every detail is resolved may feel sensible and responsible, but too frequently, it results in missed opportunities, frustration, and disengagement.
And yet, let’s be honest, strategy is challenging when the future is unclear, at least until you change your time horizons. Just like pulse surveys, pulse planning operates at the speed of business. Pulse planning involves facilitating short-term, responsive decisions based on the best and most current information available. Rather than thinking annually or even quarterly, think in 30-day horizons or sprints, anchoring plans in the present, capturing them in pencil rather than concrete. By labeling decisions as “for now” instead of “forever,” teams can move forward without the burden of needing all the answers up front. This kind of provisional thinking fosters confidence and reduces the fear of getting it wrong, because adjustments are a feature, not a bug. It’s about valuing momentum over precision — recognizing that in uncertain times, steady forward movement is more valuable than paralysis in search of perfection.
Create “safe fails,” not just fail-safes
When the stakes feel high, leaders naturally strive for certainty, often seeking fail-safe strategies that promise to eliminate risk. But in complex, fast-changing environments, you can’t wait for an airtight plan. A more realistic — and ultimately more productive — approach is to aim for safe fails instead.
Safe fails are small, intentional experiments designed to generate insight without triggering large-scale consequences. They allow teams to test ideas, observe outcomes and adapt accordingly. When you create low-stakes trials, you encourage calculated risks and carve out space for missteps that teach rather than derail. These micro-failures become data points, informing better decisions and building resilience. (And who knows – the result could also be micro-successes.)
Make clarity the new certainty
Author Kevin Eikenberry puts it simply: “Clarity is the antidote to uncertainty.” And in times when answers are incomplete or evolving, leaders may not be able to provide certainty, but they can always offer clarity.
This starts with reaffirming what doesn’t change: the “why” behind the work, the vision that drives the organization, and the values that anchor decision-making. This helps others prioritize what matters most. In uncertain times, clarity doesn’t come from knowing every step — it comes from knowing what guides each step.
The executives I mentioned earlier came to appreciate this idea. As we explored the multiple sources of uncertainty facing the organization and the decisions teams needed to make despite it, we revisited their values: trust, transparency and partnership. They quickly realized that they had an obligation to connect directly with their customers, to educate them, and to draw upon their expertise to address the challenges. And right there on the spot, they put together a plan to convene a client advisory board the following week for a two-way exchange of perspectives and problem-solving.
When people understand the underlying values and operating principles that should drive decisions, they can move forward with more confidence, even when the path itself remains fluid. Clarity of purpose becomes the steadying hand that helps everyone stay grounded, focused and aligned amid change.
Uncertainty isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it’s likely becoming a more regular feature of our evolving business landscape. So, waiting it out or planning around it is no longer an option. It’s time to embrace and work with the amorphous nature of work. That’s how we can access the agility, momentum and growth that comes along with uncertainty — and help our teams do the same.
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
____________________________________
Take advantage of SmartBrief’s FREE email newsletters on leadership and business transformation, among the company’s more than 250 industry-focused newsletters.
