28 REAL-LEADERS.COM / SUMMER 2022 LEADERSHIP 4 Tips for Leading During Uncertainty By Radha Ruparell I ’ve worked with CEOs, Fortune 500 executives, social entrepreneurs, and other leaders worldwide to unlock their leadership potential. In these times, one leadership skill is needed more than ever, and that’s the capacity to navigate uncertainty. The past year has been a real test, even for those who are comfortable with change. In many sectors, from hospitality to education, the global pandemic has caused an epic shake-up no one could ever have imagined. At a personal level, many of us faced ups and downs, with restrictions on how we gather, new financial and job pressures, and worries about our health and that of loved ones. This past year, I faced a terrifying battle with long COVID that completely upended life as I knew it, and it reminded me once again why it’s vital for all of us to build our inner capacity to navigate uncertainty and volatility. The reality is that while our lives may eventually stabilize a bit, uncertainty will always be present in our ever-changing world. So here are four tips that can help you navigate it powerfully. NORMALIZE UNCERTAINTY. It’s not our circumstances that destroy us; it’s our resistance to them. In a world changing by the day, we must accept that we can’t control everything. And that’s hard because so many of us are wired to want total control. But the more we try to control it all, the less in control we feel. As I work with leaders to accept that some things will be out of their control, they often share how liberating it is to let go of this silent burden, the dead weight that’s been sapping their energy. Normalizing uncertainty gives leaders the freedom to focus on things in their control instead. 1 “IT’S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT YOUR INTERNAL MENTAL STATE IS DEEPLY LINKED TO PERFORMANCE, SO CULTIVATING THIS CAPACITY IS NOT JUST A NICE-TO-HAVE BUT A MUSTHAVE IF YOU WISH TO LEAD POWERFULLY.”
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