Most of my coaching clients right now are worried. Wherever they work, they see scared, burned out and/or resentful people trying to hang in there. But it’s a VUCA* world—and rather than that world being temporary, it looks like it’s here to stay.

At least for awhile.

Humans aren’t wired for protracted VUCA conditions. Feeling this out of control for this long freaks us out. We like having control, and a sense that hard times have a beginning, a middle and an END. Even if we say we like change, we still reach for some kind of consistency and certainty.

We know that we are not going “back to normal.” We know that we are in some kind of “new normal,” but it hasn’t been fully defined (and may not ever be!) We know that some things might be better now, but that others are worse. We know that many of us feel uneasy, and tired, and that motivation is scarce.

And yet we are being told to “drive” productivity and projects, and I am wondering HOW. How to drive when we don’t know where we are going, or what it will be like when we get there. How to produce when we are traumatized, sad and tired. It’s as if the demands from the Before Times are still there, but without the structure, support, rewards, and motivations that used to be there as well.

In my view, it’s time to get with What Is.

What Is:

-People have been through the wringer, personally and professionally. And it’s not over.

-Some stuff is better for some people, but some is worse.

-Things we thought we could bank on have evaporated.

-Things we never dreamed of are now part of daily life.

-Future states are not predictable, other than that they are predictably unpredictable.

I’m reminded of the hair-raising experience of driving in Tule fog, or in whiteout conditions. You can only see a few feet ahead of you. You’re gripping the wheel, trying to stay calm and steer, but you are chillingly aware that you could spin out at any moment.

And so…you slow down. You don’t try to Rambo your way outta there. You change your approach to match the conditions. You watch for brake lights in front of you. You see very little of what is far ahead, so you lower your gaze to what is right in front of you, right now. You breathe. And maybe pray.

If someone were in the passenger seat urging you to be grateful! and go faster! you could be forgiven for feeling incensed. These exhortations are entirely out of sync for the conditions in which you are maneuvering.

Which brings me to the current state of leadership. In the Before Times, leadership had much more of an emphasis on inspiring and motivating people, of driving and empowering others to drive. Although that is still a part of leading, I wonder if leadership today might be more about steadying people than about driving or attempting to motivate them. About helping each other to see–and get with–what is. About slowing down, and adapting to the driving conditions.

As a leader in VUCA conditions, you might ask yourself and your team the following:

-What do we know for sure right now?

-Given what we know for sure, what’s one next step forward?

-If we don’t know anything for sure, when might we?

-Would it be helpful to do some scenario planning, or are things so VUCA-ish that it would be a waste of time?

-Which of our speculations are harmful rather than helpful?

-Are there any signposts on this drive? What do they say? What might that prompt us to do next? To NOT do?

-What’s the priority in this moment?

Part of adapting to VUCA conditions is asking more (and better) questions, slowly and in community. The answers may not be fully or immediately forthcoming, but they are there.

Undoubtedly there are silver linings and opportunities in this VUCA world, but if we apply old leadership tenets, we may drive right past them.

*Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous. For more see my blog post “VUCA on Steroids” https://www.danagallagher.com/vuca-on-steroids/

**Thanks to KR, for nudging me to write this.