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How to lead with confidence through uncertainty

As we move more firmly into the Great Cocooning, we need to be mindful of our core responsibility as leaders. Where there is uncertainty, let us provide clarity. Where there is fear, let us provide hope. Where there is doubt, let us provide chocolate. It makes everything better. Let’s look at some practical things we can do right now to lead with confidence, though the way is masked in fog.
Zoë Routh

Zoë Routh

3 Min Read

“Give me a checklist and I’m good to go.”

Nothing like a proven success formula and a 12 point plan to execute.

Alas, leadership by numbers is no longer an option. The times they have changed.

We’re currently in the middle of spinning our collective and individual cocoons. We are settling in for the long haul to survive the invasion of the bugs. 

As we sit wrapped in stillness, the uncertainty seeps through the threads.

What’s going to happen? How long will this last? What will the world look like after? 

There are no clear answers. This is the future of leadership, happening right now.

What people need in times of uncertainty is clarity.

This is what we can do to get some form in the fog:

List the known.

What do we know for sure is happening? What resources do we have right now? What are the constraints we have to work within?

List assumptions and challenge them.

When we think about the future, all we have is what we imagine. Some things are possible, some things are probable, and some things are just wishful thinking. List those things. Then ask, ‘how likely do we think this is?’ By challenging the assumptions, we draw attention to the fuzziness, and this paradoxically helps to bring more clarity.

Make a stand.

This is our time to craft a future we want to live in. We may not know what that looks like in detail, but we can know how we want it to feel, what principles we want to live by. What are our values? What do we stand against or what do we stand for? These form a compass that helps us to take our next best step.

What can we have confidence in?

It can’t be what happens next. It can’t be about what the world will look like. It CAN be about how we show up as leaders, how we keep communicating with our people. It can be about our courage, it can be about our values, it can be about what we stand for, what we want to fight for, and how we can love and live each day as the gift that it is.

How can you create more clarity and confidence in the days ahead?

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Author(s)

  • Zoë Routh

    Australia's Leadership Expert, Author of Book of the Year "People Stuff" l Speaker l Mentor l Strategist

    Zoë Routh is one of Australia’s leading experts on people stuff - the stuff that gets in our way of producing results, and the stuff that lights us up. She works with the growers, makers, builders to make people stuff fun and practical.

    Zoë is the author of four books: Composure - How centered leaders make the biggest impact,  Moments - Leadership when it matters most, Loyalty - Stop unwanted staff turnover, boost engagement, and build lifelong advocates, and People Stuff - Beyond Personalities: An advanced handbook for leadership. People Stuff was awarded Book of the Year 2020 by the Smart WFM Australian Business Book Awards.

    Zoë is also the producer of The Zoë Routh Leadership Podcast.