When Work Gets Shaky, Your Team Is Watching You
Five leadership practices that help you stay steady, communicate clearly, and keep people moving through uncertainty.
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Think back to the last time everything at work got shaky (and if you’re like most people, you don’t have to think back too far). Maybe it was a reorg nobody saw coming, or a budget freeze, or a big client taking their business elsewhere.
Now picture the moment right after the news landed, when your team turned toward you to see how you would react.
What did your face do? Did it fall or freeze? What did you say first? Did you go quiet, overexplain, or crack a joke to break the tension?
I ask because that moment matters more than most of us realize. In uncertain times, the people you lead are watching you for cues. They listen to what you say, how you say it, when you say it, what you carefully avoid saying, and whether your actions line up with your words. That is a LOT of attention pointed your way. That can feel overwhelming and stressful. It can also be good news because YOU get to decide what to do with it.
Here is what I have learned from coaching leaders through messy, ambiguous stretches: your team looks up to gauge how worried they should be. Your steadiness travels fast, but so does your tension. The reassuring part is that steady leadership runs on practices you can practice and build, not on personality or natural instincts you were born with.
Five “C” practices hold up when the path ahead is hard to see and trickier to navigate. Which ones of these are you modeling?
1. Calm. Steady yourself before you try to steady anyone else. Before a hard conversation, take ninety seconds to slow your breathing and name what you are feeling, because unnamed stress leaks into your tone, your keyboard, and your face on camera. One tactic that I share with my clients is to write down the worst-case scenario before a meeting, then write the most likely one next to it. Most of the time the gap calms them down on its own.
2. Communicate. Tell people what you know, what you do not, and when you will update them. (That third part matters most). “I should know more by Thursday and will send a note either way” buys you trust and buys them the ability to stop refreshing their inbox — over and over and over. Skip any kind of vague reassurance. Set a cadence— even a short weekly message — and keep it whether or not there is big news to share.
3. Choose. Make the very next responsible decision with incomplete information. Waiting for full clarity usually costs more than an educated call you adjust later. A useful filter that I share with my clients is this: which option keeps the most doors open? Make a decision, articulate the reasoning out loud, and name what would make you change course. That last step signals confidence and flexibility at the same time.
4. Coach. Build your team’s judgment so they stop routing every question through you. When someone brings you a problem, ask what they would do before you answer. Hand back ownership on the lower-stakes calls so they get reps of making decisions and taking actions while the cost of a misstep is small. A team that can reason and respond on its own holds up far better than one waiting on you for every move. Also, you don’t have the time and energy to put into doing every. single. thing.
5. Come Back. Pace yourself and recover out in the open. Uncertainty runs loooooong, and leaders who sprint burn out right when their people need them. Name what you’re feeling without judging yourself for it. Articulate both tangible losses (like your big account or your favorite coworker) and intangible losses (like connection, autonomy, or predictability). Protect your off-hours and let your team see you take a real break. How you recover sets the permission level for everyone watching.
You will get some calls wrong. What people will remember is whether you stayed honest and present while the picture was still forming. After all, that’s what you’re probably watching your leaders to show you, too.