4 Ways To Remain A Human-Centric Leader When Navigating Uncertainty
By Helen Wada with Paul Golding
For episode 7 of Human Wise, I sat down with Paul Golding, executive coach and facilitator, and founder of Baransu. Paul focuses much of his work around coaching individuals and teams through periods of change or uncertainty; those trying times when it is more important than ever to take a human-centric approach.
It’s all very well to show up as our best selves and focus on the human side of business when things are going well, but how do we continue this whilst also navigating periods of heightened anxiety, uncertainty and fear?
Let’s explore.
1. Be clear about what control or influence you have over a situation
When faced with uncertainty, identifying which elements we have control or influence over can help to direct our next steps. There is no point worrying about that which we cannot control.
If we have neither control nor influence, the only thing left for us to do is to accept it. From here, we can assess the situation with more level-headedness than could be achieved in denial. What might we be able to change about the situation to regain some control or influence? Is there a decision we can make that will reduce uncertainty for others, so that they can move forwards. Where else can we channel our energy instead?
Without this mindset, we become stuck in uncertainty, unable to let go of feelings of powerlessness and overwhelm. This prevents us from focusing on other tasks we could be achieving or offering support to, which can have a big impact across an organisation.
2. Make time to pause and practise emotional intelligence
It takes time to retrain our brains to pause. Doing so, however, unlocks one of the most central elements in navigating uncertainty: responding instead of reacting.
Reacting: an instinctive, emotional response to a situation. Reactions are often impulsive and influenced by past experiences, fears, or limiting beliefs.
Responding: a thoughtful and deliberate action that has been reached after weighing up our options, working through our initial reaction and making a conscious (rather than unconscious) choice.
In the workplace, this may look like taking a moment to pause before reacting to an email that has elicited feelings of anxiety, uncertainty, or frustration. Something as simple as taking a few minutes to work through our initial reaction, understand where it came from and assess whether it would lead to the best outcome, can be the difference between diffusing a situation and fuelling the fire. One, of course, constitutes a more human working world – the other does not.
Something as simple as pausing has so much potential for bringing more humanness into the workplace. So in a world so fraught with uncertainty, how can we encourage ourselves and others to pause more?
Paul: “This reminds me of emotional intelligence work. My definition of [emotional intelligence] is ‘understanding my emotions and the emotions of other people so I can make choices that are helpful.’”
Pausing allows us to practise emotional intelligence – to put it into action. It is unsustainable to rush through life at a million miles an hour, expecting to be able to understand everything we see whizzing past us. When we give ourselves time to process, we can fine-tune our responses to get the most optimal outcome.
3. Understand your anxieties
Paul shares with us a model by Barry Mason titled the ‘Safe Uncertainty’ matrix, which is used to assess risk.
Image via PulseToday.co.uk (https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/pulse-pcn/the-hidden-challenge-of-leading-anxious-teams-through-uncertainty/)
This model shows us that two seemingly opposite feelings can be true at once. We can feel safe but uncertain, or unsafe but certain. This model can be a helpful tool for someone struggling with the anxiety that comes from periods of uncertainty, change, or overwhelm, because it offers perspective.
For example, there may be high levels of uncertainty during a project, but teams that are built on a foundation of psychological safety are likely to feel safe during the uncertainty. They may have been reassured that even if the project fails, barring any deliberate oversights and as long as they tried their best, their jobs are safe and it is an opportunity for development.
For more on how to build the psychological safety that will allow your team and colleagues to feel safe during periods of uncertainty, check out this blog on 3 ways to build psychological safety for innovation and culture.
4. Prioritise a growth mindset
Paul: ““A growth mindset means whatever happens, success or failure, you’re thinking ‘what have I learned that I can do better in the future?’”
There are some instances where it is beneficial to have a fixed mindset, for example in technical specialisms. But, especially during periods of uncertainty, it is so important to be able to access a growth mindset. Otherwise, when presented with something different, challenging or outside of our comfort zone, we’re more likely to think “no, I can’t do that. I don’t know how.”
Adopting a growth mindset throughout periods of uncertainty pushes us. It builds our resilience. It allows us to collect more data and experience that can benefit us in future periods of uncertainty. All of this contributes to feelings of safety, and decreases anxiety, overwhelm and a general feeling of being ‘out of our depth’.
A growth mindset links back to our earlier point of pausing. This type of perspective requires moments of intentional reflection. What went well? What didn't go so well? What can I learn or take forward for next time?
If you’d benefit from assistance creating these moments of reflection, or guidance through beneficial questions, please get in touch.
A human-centric approach to uncertainty: 3 key benefits
When we are able to use this toolkit, we can begin to unlock the following benefits:
➔ We become more open-minded and curious, allowing us to build deeper, more valuable connections both internally and with external clients and partners.
➔ We unlock the ability to pause before we react, making a conscious and thoughtful decision about how best to respond in order to reach the most optimum outcome.
➔ We are able to identify areas where we have control and influence and, with reflection and acceptance, redirect our energy when we have neither.
With this approach, we ensure we are doing the right things, at the right time and with the right people. This is a business that is efficient, psychologically safe and human-centred, one that can navigate uncertainty and come out stronger.
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Episode 7 of Human Wise is available here.
For more information on Paul, find him on LinkedIn or head over to Baransu.
Human Wise releases new episodes bi-weekly and is available on all major podcast platforms.