Leadership in Uncertainty
The psychological cost of uncertainty
If you are one of those adults who has begun experiencing increased heartrate, muscle tightness, disturbed sleep, difficulty with memory, or an inability to focus in the last three months, it is more than likely to be anxiety of living through these uncertain times.
Daniel Dennett referred to the human brain as an “anticipation machine”, constantly making up the future based on what it knows. In the natural state, the brain receives information that is either at once familiar or that can be slotted into familiar mental models. It then interprets the information and is able to choose an appropriate response. But when no information is available, or when the available information cannot be classified by the brain into familiar mental models, we experience ambiguity. In turn, the ambiguity – or the lack of information- induces anxiety.
It takes cognitive effort on our part to overcome the anxiety. It also helps to craft a sense of purpose which is a stabilizing anchor. For those of you who happen to be leading teams of people during the pandemic, it also means helping others overcome their anxieties. Leadership is more important than ever before. The question is, how do we choose to show up at this time in the midst of this unprecedented crisis?
1. Be Present
The first choice we have to make is to be present. It does not matter in the least that currently the only interaction you have with the others is by phone calls or by video conferences. Being present is about giving undivided attention to whatever is at hand and to the people with whom you are engaging. Attention has the quality of altering the nature of your interaction with others; being attentive generates empathy and energy.
But being present does not come easy and it takes effort. You can follow a simple three-point drill to get there. Before a meeting, take a few minutes to step back. Take a deep breath and exhale slowly and repeat this a few times. When you do that, you are activating your para-sympathetic system which slows down your heart rate, decreases your blood pressure, and the muscles start relaxing. Your para-sympathetic system in turn, informs the brain of the changes taking place in your body and it increases the feeling of being present.
Now, ask yourself the question, what am I here for? Or, what purpose am I bringing to this meeting? Now you are being purposeful as well as mindful. Being mindful builds awareness of the larger context of the interaction you are about to have with the others. This includes being aware of the emotional states of the others and their anxieties. Being purposeful gives you the focus and attention.
Third, let go of the things that you cannot control. Worries about what is going to happen to the economy or what might be the state of your own finances are at best, distractions. There is a time for thinking about these questions but worrying about them only generates noise in the brain. And if you do find yourself drifting in that direction, watch that worry and put it away. Letting go is not about trying to stop worrying or stopping anxiety; it is simply about making it insignificant in the present!
2. Create psychological safety
One of the biggest and the most primeval of all human needs is the need to belong. This need was probably sculpted into the human brain in the plains of the African savannah a hundred thousand years ago. Belonging not only provides security, it engenders feelings of commitment and following. During a crisis, the need to belong is amplified several times over.
There is no one way of engendering the feeling of belonging and safety. It can take many forms including regularly checking in with others; showing appreciation for their work; helping them connect with the larger purpose of the work they do; allowing for mistakes, etc. The term “psychological safety” was first used in 1990 by William Kahn who described it as “being able to show and employ one’s self without fear of negative consequences to self-image, status or career.” Anxiety in the current context is natural and needs expression. However, in many organizations, there is the pressure – either self-inflicted or through peer actions – to cover up the anxiety. Gender often plays a role here and there is a fear many men have of coming across as weak and ineffective if they are to talk about their anxieties. Creating psychological safety is therefore also about helping the others express and share their anxiety knowing that they are not being judged. A problem shared is a problem halved is not just an old saying, it is based on scientific evidence.
3. Provide hope with realism
During his twenty-seven years in Robben Island prison, Mandela wrote: “One day I shall step out into the sunshine and walk with firm feet”. At first sight, there is a very slender dividing line between Mandela expressing hope, and what might seem as an overly unrealistic statement, given that he wrote this when apartheid was its peak. By itself the statement means nothing more than an inspiring call. But it is the subsequent actions that Mandela took that made the hopeful statement realistic. One of the many actions he took involved staying physically fit, knowing that freedom was going to be a long haul. So, in the seven by nine feet room where a single, naked bulb burned day and night, Mandela would unfailingly do 200 push-ups every day! Hope needs hard work!
Hope is a critical need we carry deep in our brains, and in all likelihood, it evolved as a survival mechanism to motivate and energize early humans to find food. It has a function and a role to play. But by itself, it is nothing better than a feel-good line. On the other hand, providing realistic hope involves putting in the cognitive and physical effort behind giving hope to people. More importantly, it involves getting your people to put in the cognitive and physical effort.
We are unique as a species in that we are driven by an innate and compelling desire to find meaning in our lives and in the work that we do. And when we do find that meaning, we function better as creative human beings; we feel more complete, we are more productive, and we experience greater wellbeing. The anxiety that we feel when faced with uncertainty and ambiguity, is the anxiety of meaninglessness: that state in which nothing makes sense. Leadership is about helping others and the organization create meaning despite the ambiguity.
You possess a very important leadership resource to help the creation of meaning, and that resource is purpose. Purpose provides the living reason why we exist in the first place. It also provides direction and clarity; the very things that are in critical short supply when we are experiencing ambiguity and uncertainty. Share your purpose with the others and get them to become aware of their own purpose. Share with them the purpose of why your team exists and the value it brings to the organization and the world. Help them make the connection between their lives and roles and the greater impact of the work they do. Be a meaning maker for them.
