Week in and week out, I have the unique opportunity of working with different levels of business leaders from many different industries; some weeks I could be running a developmental workshop for senior executives, and some weeks I could be facilitating a leadership development workshop for new leaders taking on their first teams and leadership responsibilities.  After every learning journey, I reflect back on the sessions looking for patterns of effective leadership challenges and development opportunities to share with the readers of this blog.

One of the most enjoyable and enriching audiences I work with are the mid-level leaders who report to the executives who set the strategy and lead the workers and contributors who execute the strategy by doing the actual work.  The reason I enjoy working with these leaders so much is that they are the catalysts for success and they can still learn new things to make an impact and difference.

Over the past several months, I have seen and experienced firsthand the anxiety facing these mid-level managers.  They are anxious because they are truly living in the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world of global business.  Geopolitical issues such as Brexit, the unexpected election of President Trump, the animosity and instability in Asia, a potential new leader in France, and a continued slow global economy continue to accelerate and get more complex and are the primary factors contributing to an uncomfortable and uncertain future for most business leaders.

Five Leadership Tips

In order to help other leaders deal with these issues, I have put together a list of five leadership tips to help lead into an uncertain future. This list of 5 tips was compiled from discussions, workshops, and action planning and outlines the keys elements of effective leadership. 

Manage expectations

One of the most import  leader skills needed when leading in uncertain times is to manage expectations in a real and authentic manner.  There is no reason to exaggerate and over-promise and the more realistic you are, the better you are managing their expectations and ability to focus and concentrate on the specific work.

Manage to Expect the unexpected

Nothing is ever going to go as planned; especially in uncertain times. Great leadership manage to create an environment where employees can learn to expect the unexpected and deal with all of the uncertainties of their worlds inside and outside of work. A tip to do this?  Practice dealing with change.  Throw a few curve balls at your team and see how they react. Juggle teams, change priorities and help them understand they won’t be penalized for making mistakes as long as they are learning and evolving.

Communicate early and often

There is no such thing as too much communicating and the best leaders figure out ways to communicate early and often.  These communications don’t have to be formal and they don’t need to be long; they need to be plentiful and they need to deliver the right messages.

Set realistic goals

Like managing expectation, you must set goals and the goals must be realistic.  In times of uncertainly, don’t set unrealistic stretch goals, set realistic goals that can be achieved and measured without a lot of complications.

Adapt and change goals quickly

The business will change quickly and adaptability is a key to survival and then long-term success.  Good leaders can adapt and change goals quickly and create an environment for employees to be able to adapt quickly and re-set their focus depending on their circumstances and leadership ability.