Happy Tuesday!

Uncertainty is real. Many would say there is more uncertainty (in many parts of our lives) than ever. I don’t know if that is completely true, but if that is the perception, then it is important to consider.

I would say uncertainty is a natural part of life, meaning, we need to learn how to deal with it, regardless of how much of it we see or feel.

Regardless of your personal feeling or perspective on uncertainty, as a leader, you must consider it carefully for two important reasons:

• Even if it isn’t impacting you (or you can deal with it pretty well), it is impacting your team members.

• The impacts uncertainty has are far reaching – both individually and collectively. Anything that has that much impact requires our consideration as a leader.

So that is our focus today – uncertainty.

I’m certain that as you read what follows, you will gain insights that will help you personally and/or with your leader hat on.

The word uncertainty is in the subtitle of my new book, Flexible Leadership: Navigate Uncertainty and Lead with Confidence. And dealing with it in a proactive way is one of the big ideas in the book. If you like what I share here today, I urge you to get a copy, then talk to us about how we can help you and the leaders in your organization lead through uncertainty more effectively.

Enjoy what follows. If you have questions or comments, reply to this email, reach out to your contact on our team, or comment on the blog.

Make it a great Tuesday and remember…

You are Remarkable!

Kevin 😊

The State of Workplace Confidence

LinkedIn's Workforce Confidence survey says confidence is down. In times of uncertainty, that isn't surprising news. But there is an important piece of news in this survey that Executives must understand and address.

In the last two years, Executive confidence has dropped 3 points (from +57 to +54 on a scale of -100 to +100). In that same time, workforce confidence has dropped 12 points (from +36 to +24).

That tells me that too many executives aren't doing their job.

Uncertainty can erode confidence, but executives (and all leaders) can help stall that erosion for the teams if they do these important things:

• Be transparent. Share what you know and what you see. What you see might be murky and uncertain, but when you share what you see from a higher and different perspective, you pull back the curtain for your team more. And it will likely reduce their overall level of uncertainty.

• Keep dialogue open. Too many leaders and executives hunker down and try to figure everything out about how to deal with the complexity of the situation. By keeping quiet, you make things worse and can't get the critical input and perspective of the team. When people feel they are a part of the conversation, they will be more confident in how things will go.

• Try something. In times of complexity (like now), you are likely better to test and pilot things, rather than take a "wait and see" approach. Let others help you find the tests. Call them tests. Keep them small and keep moving forward in the face of the uncertainty.

All these actions will help your confidence, but more importantly, as the LinkedIn Survey shows, it will help you lift the confidence of your team members in their jobs, their role, their contribution and the future.

Ask yourself if you are doing these things often enough, consciously enough, and well enough. If you don't like your answer, start today. And if you do think you are doing well - share this article with your team and ask them for feedback.

It’s a VUCA World – Now What?

VUCA (which stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) was coined as an acronym first described by Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus in their 1985 book, Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge (link to the 2007 second edition). It gained fame through its use by the US Army War College in the 1990’s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. VUCA made sense then, and perhaps today it is a VUCA World more than ever.

Thanks for reading. Please reply at any time with questions or feedback for our team.

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