Five Best Practices to Lead in Uncertain Times
I know two retail store owners who learned different lessons during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first was caught by surprise. His brick-and-mortar store was already struggling to attract customers, and the quarantine only made things worse. One by one he laid off staff, reduced the hours his store was open, discounted prices and eventually had to close his doors for good. His lesson? Never open a store again. It’s too hard.
The other retailer saw what was coming in January of 2020 and began accelerating his presence online. He not only enhanced his website for online shoppers, matching Amazon prices, but he increased his creative presence on social media, hiring young teammates who leveraged Tik Tok and Instagram well and created digital coupons for new patrons. He went where the people were. He also provided customers an engaging drive-through experience. Sales went up. His lesson? Welcome uncertainty as a friend not a foe and let it help you update and improve.
What’s the Difference?
My guess is you know stories like the two above. One sad, one glad, but both illustrate the contrasting attitudes people embrace toward uncertainty. Each dictated their outcomes. Here are the lessons these leaders learned that are transferrable for us today.
1. Recognize that uncertainty is the only reality that’s certain.
My friend, Mike Griffin, says, “I am certain of uncertainty in your life and mine. Uncertainty births changes in our life—some pleasant surprises, some difficult crises—but either way, things are different. How we deal with changes in our lives will ultimately determine our success in life.” Especially for particular temperaments, it is beneficial to psyche ourselves up for this kind of expectation. Control freaks beware. “Knowing how to live with insecurity is our only security,” John Allen Paulos reminds us.
2. Don’t make empty promises about elements out of your control.
Too many leaders make promises to their teams that, when investigated, are out of their control. This is dangerous. Life is about managing expectations. It’s far wiser to be calculated in our language and to prepare people for difficulties, then ensure them that making it to the other side is doable. John Huston Finley summarized what it means to be adultlike in the face of the unknown: “Maturity is the capacity to endure uncertainty.” Leaders must show high expectations and high belief in their people by shooting straight.
3. Approach the uncertainty as an opportunity to grow stronger.
Leaders do well to embrace uncertainty as a chance to innovate. When people feel no pain, they’re less apt to adapt or to create. Ilya Prigogine put it this way, “The future is uncertain …but this uncertainty is at the very heart of human creativity.” I’ve found I need uncertainty to prompt me out of my comfort zone and prepare for future situations. It’s like a workout in a fitness center for me. It is painful but brings out the best in me. When the pandemic launched in the Spring of 2020, my travel dried up. That gave me time, however, to author a book (The Pandemic Population) addressing the mental health issues a quarantine would intensify. It was the timeliest book I’ve written.
4. Refuse to be a victim of your circumstances by spotting the trade-offs.
Every shift during uncertain times brings a trade-off our way. We must identify these trade-offs. This single act enables us to avoid becoming a victim of our adverse situation. As I worked with John C. Maxwell, he would repeatedly say to us, “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” He is right. If we are not intentional about our attitude, we will fall into the trap millions fall into, embracing a victim mindset that feels we deserve a reward because life has been so hard. We assume an external locus of control and slowly put ourselves at the mercy of others. All because we did not pivot. Albert Einstein reduced it to this: “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”
5. Make the interruption an introduction to a new way to reach your goal.
Uncertainty should compel leaders to develop an “option play.” In years gone by, college quarterbacks would take the snap and observe what unfolded on the field. Once he saw what the defense was doing, a quarterback had three options: hand the ball off, hold on to the ball and run with it or pass the ball down the field. He read the play before he led the play. Bingo. I always lead better when I can see interruptions as introductions to an entirely new path to reach my objective. The obstacle becomes an opportunity. The problem becomes a possibility. In the pandemic, we developed free digital resources for our partners that later turned into deeper relationships and subscriptions. We had talked about hosting virtual events prior to 2020, but suddenly it was forced upon us. We doubled attendance from people around the globe when compared to previous in-person events.
Let’s be honest. As humans, we naturally seek out the familiar and the comfortable. It is even normal to look for shortcuts in our tasks. This predisposition, however, must be opposed with a curiosity about the unknown and the uncertain. Why not see it as an adventure? Why not build strong “emotional muscles” by welcoming changes that come with uncertainty? It’s time to be inquisitive. Henri Frederic Amiel said, “Uncertainty is the refuge of hope.”
Each time I’ve been out sailing in the bay or on a lake, I was with an experienced sailor. And every time we were out, the winds picked up. Sometimes, harsh, adverse winds. Those sailors never batted an eye. They quickly went to work, adjusting the sails. Instead of yelling at the wind, or giving up and sitting down, they knew their job was to pull on the ropes and make the proper adjustments so that even contrary winds would still take them to their goal.
That’s how to lead in uncertain times.
I’m excited to share with you—my book releases this fall on this topic: “A New Kind of Diversity: Making the Different Generations on Your Team a Competitive Advantage.”
You can grab your copy now at: NewDiversityBook.com.