Leading Through Uncertainty
The past several years have been anything but stable. The entrance of COVID into our vocabulary, the political swings, financial pressures, and so much more have seemingly redefined life as we know it. Life appears to be marked by a feeling of anxiety, or of a general sense of unsettlement. Does anyone even remember what normal is any longer?! What was once deemed common sense has become a distant memory. The pressure created by instability can come from several sources. The uncertainty could be a result of a poor decision you made as a leader. Maybe you failed to heed the advice, or warnings, of wise people. Or, you just assumed you knew better than anyone else. It could be the result of outside pressures, such as a decision by another group or supporting organization. Maybe the non-profit you lead lost a key source of funding. It could be the result of an unexpected natural disaster, or pandemic. As a leader, you must navigate these uncertain times and help the people you lead come through them. There is an old adage that tells us:
Pressure (stress) does not create character. It reveals what is already there.
What is the current pressure of today revealing about you right now?
Are you anchored in the midst of the storm?
Or, are you floating in the current tossed about by the winds and waves?
Anchored or not, use these questions in the midst of the season to guide your team and yourself.
What is most important?
Far too often organizations, churches, people fail not because they are not trying but because they are focused on unimportant things. Take stock of what the core values of the organization are and what your personal values reflect. MIsaligned values add to the instability of the moment. If you are focused on accomplishing things that don’t fit with what is most important you will drift into burnout. The values that are most important should only number three, maybe four, things. No one can feasibly have greater than three or so most important things for a long period of time. Knowing those things, and intentionally keeping them at the forefront, will help ground you in times of difficulty. Allowing people, or things, outside of God to define you will add to the instability around you.
Where are we right now?
Times of uncertainty should not be the first time you think about where the organization is at the moment. You should be taking regular stock of where you are. The only way you can move forward towards the goal is to be brutally honest about where you are. It is vital that you, and your team, work together to bring clarity to where the organization stands in regards to its vision and mission. The only way to chart a course through the waters is to know both where you are going and where you are. Failure to acknowledge, or be honest, about where you are will only add to the unstable feeling amongst your team. Honesty about where things are will help bring the team together towards fulfilling the mission.
What is the next right step?
These uncertain times are tremendous opportunities for growth. You don’t have to know every single step to the finish line, but you do need to know what is the next right one to take. If you have not worked on what is most important in the organization and you have not been honest about where you are, then finding the next right step will largely be done blindly and in complete darkness. You are going to step on every Lego piece sitting on the floor. It will be deeply painful and you still won’t have gotten to where you need to go.
Periods of uncertainty might be the time to challenge old assumptions. It might be time to recognize new assumptions that aren’t working. Maybe it is time to innovate and change. Avoid the urge to run away, or to simply sit still. Take time to seek God and what He has next for you, the organization, and the team. Difficult seasons are going to happen in leadership. How you respond will make a huge difference in your life, your team’s life, and the organization you lead.