Dear Change Leader,
Let’s be honest — this is a challenging time. The last few weeks have brought more than their fair share of disruptions, affecting us at personal, team, organizational, and community levels.
That’s a lot, isn’t it?
And you’re not going to be comforted when I share with you an assessment recently made by John Simpson, a respected veteran BBC journalist:
“There are years when the world goes through some fundamental, convulsive change… A time when the basic assumptions about the way our world works are fed into the shredder.”
History gives us reference points. I recall being a college student in South Africa at the beginning of 1990 when Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years in prison — an action linked to the fall of the Berlin Wall just three months earlier and the popular uprisings across Eastern Europe.
Many of us remember September 11, 2001. The actions on that horrifying day marked another disruption, launching years of conflict across the Middle East.
We may well look back on the start of 2025 as a similar inflection point.
Leading Through the Fog
It’s particularly challenging to be a leader at times like this.
Not only may the immediate future of your organization be unclear, but you’re likely experiencing activation in your own nervous system. Just when people are looking to you for clarity and certainty, you may find yourself dysregulated, overwhelmed by stress chemicals washing through your brain.
All this can leave us feeling like we’re in a fog… all that was familiar is gone; what remains visible is murky and unclear.
So how do we navigate when the map itself is changing?
Three Practices for Navigating Uncertainty
Below are three approaches that can help you find your way forward when the path isn’t clear. Each comes with specific practices you can implement immediately.
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Start with the Present
In complex, even chaotic times, remember that the seeds of the future exist right now. All the conditions around us are interacting in ways from which the future will emerge.
The value of starting with the present lies in noticing what is actually happening. Being intentional about this helps calm your nervous system, making it easier to become aware of opportunities and developments on the periphery that might lead you forward.
Practices:
- Tend to your inner landscape. Notice how your body feels—where you feel tension or stress. Observe your thought patterns. Name your emotions simply and directly. This naming helps gain perspective and reduces the chance they’ll overwhelm you.
- Bring intention to each moment. Before meetings or important interactions, pause to name the purpose. This small act centers your attention and enhances your awareness.
- Document patterns, not just events. Make notes of what’s happening around you—both facts and beliefs. Question your mindset and mental models. What might you be missing? What patterns are emerging in the present moment?
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Develop Experiments to Test What’s Possible
It’s hard to know how to act in conditions like these. This isn’t an environment suited to lengthy analysis and consultation. You likely don’t have time to find the “perfect solution” — if one even exists.
Instead, develop several “safe-to-fail” experiments. These serve as probes that allow you to learn about what’s possible by testing the emerging context.
Practices:
- Let go of outcome fixation. The purpose of these experiments is to learn how the system behaves, not to immediately solve everything. Release your efforts to control exactly what happens.
- Embrace the power of small moves. Rather than assembling a “grand plan,” see what happens when you rapidly try small actions that might nudge the context in the desired direction. Try several things simultaneously and observe what happens.
- Set time boundaries. Approach these experiments as time-limited actions. This helps in drawing lessons and then shaping new experiments, rather than endlessly tweaking a single approach.
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Strengthen Your Connections
Standing alone, you can at best only see one small part of this complex system. Forging connections with others — inside and outside your organization — allows you to expand your understanding and awareness.
These connections also enable you to scale experiments that are working and avoid repeating others’ failures. You, likewise, benefit from the experience and lessons of your colleagues.
Practices:
- Seek diverse perspectives. Drawing on varied viewpoints enriches your understanding of how the system is behaving and what is emerging. Connect with people and organizations different from you so that you can all benefit from exchanges across boundaries.
- Practice genuine curiosity. Listen deeply to what others are sharing, and appreciate their perspectives—even when you don’t agree. Ask questions that open possibilities rather than seeking confirmation.
- Welcome surprises. Don’t look for perfect answers or validation of your existing beliefs. By engaging with people unlike yourself, you’ll likely encounter possibilities you’d never considered.
Your Next Step
Choose just one practice from those above that resonates most strongly with you. Commit to implementing it consistently over the next two weeks. Notice what changes—both in your own experience of leadership and in the responses of those around you.
Remember: When the world is going through the shredder, the most valuable skill isn’t having all the answers — it’s developing the capacity to navigate uncertainty with presence, experimentation, and connection.
Until next time,
P.S. I’d love to hear which of these practices you found most helpful. Get in touch to share your experience or insights — your response might help shape future newsletters.
Join Me At These Upcoming Events!
March 7, 2025: I’m hosting a second session of the RCA Change Leaders Working Session. Join me for this free, practical, two-hour session on “Navigating Your Stakeholder Ecosystem with Confidence.” More Information
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March 14, 21, and 28, 2025: I’m leading a 3-part online program on the Foundations of Gestalt Facilitation with the Gestalt International Study Center. Join me in becoming more effective at harnessing a team’s collective potential and productivity to achieve desired outcomes.
EFFECTIVE CHANGE RESULTS FROM INTENTIONAL LEADERSHIP
We’re a leadership and organization development consultancy. My team and I work with leaders like you to prepare for and lead successful change processes.
Here’s why our clients call us:
- Leadership Coaching: I support leaders as they navigate transitions into new roles or expanded responsibilities.
- Group Coaching and Learning Programs: Bringing groups of leaders together, I facilitate learning experiences and months-long programs that equip people to be effective change leaders.
- Effective Teams and Stronger Organizations: I work with leaders and their teams with tailored processes that increase their effectiveness, building layers of aligned teams that transform organizations.