Recently, I had the honor of speaking at a presidents’ meeting for one of our major client companies. The invitation came on the heels of a blog I wrote about confident leadership in uncertain times. That message clearly resonated. And it continues to, because uncertainty isn’t a passing trend. It’s the new normal.
What I shared with the group was both encouragement and a challenge. And it sounded something like this:
Today’s business environment is not just volatile. It’s ambiguous. The speed of change, the complexity of decisions, the nuance of stakeholder expectations… it’s a lot. And it is human nature to want to simplify. But in that drive for simplicity, some leaders are faltering. They strip out nuance. They look for silver bullets. They are tempted to perhaps take shortcuts. They manage, rather than lead, with fear or rigidity.
Why? Because ambiguity makes people uncomfortable. And without the resources or internal clarity on how to lead through that discomfort, they default to control, or silence.
But as I’ve shared before, you don’t need all the answers to lead well. What you need is the compass of your core values.
Integrity and Congruence: The Real Competitive Advantage
We often talk about integrity in personal situations, but it’s just as important in the workplace. I’ll go so far as to say it’s the opposite of a soft skill. In leadership, integrity is operational. It’s how decisions get made and how people are treated. It’s how trust is either built or broken.
Integrity means doing the right thing, not the easy thing. It’s standing in front of your team and delivering the truth, even when you have limited information yourself. It’s modeling the behavior you expect, especially when no one’s watching.
Congruence is integrity’s twin. It’s the alignment between what you say and what you do. Leaders who are congruent create environments where teams feel safe to act with courage. That’s because they know their leader is consistent.
If you want to lead through uncertainty with confidence, congruence is non-negotiable.
Complexity Is Not the Enemy; Disconnection Is
We live in a complex world. That’s not going to change. What can change is how leaders engage with that complexity. Rather than shrinking from it, lean in. Your job isn’t to have every answer. It’s to name the tension or challenge and to help your team navigate through it with clarity and courage.
That kind of leadership isn’t found in strategy decks or financial models. It’s found in values and in how you choose to show up, especially when things are hard. That’s when your people are watching. That’s where your legacy is formed.
Stay Grounded in Values
The decisions you make don’t just move numbers. They shape culture and define the tone, ethics, and resilience of more than just your team. And currently, those decisions carry even more weight.
So here is my charge to leaders right now:
Audit your leadership.
Where are you fully aligned? Where are you just performing?
Where are you leading from conviction? And where are you reacting out of fear?
Real leadership starts with the courage to ask hard questions of yourself before anyone else has to. Start there. Align there.
Clarity will follow.
