The Hum of Uncertainty

Are you having trouble seeing what's next?

There are some things we're just not sure of: election results before polls close, the impact of the sustained economic stress many are feeling, or whether the strength of our team is enough to withstand the changes coming to our business. These are examples of the uncomfortable thoughts that run in the background while we work and live.

For you, that uncertainty might feel like a low, anxious hum in the pit of your stomach. You know it's there, but there's too much happening to address it. The hum of uncertainty doesn't go away with personal achievements or meeting KPIs.

What would happen if you took some time to sit and process what is running in the background, like a program you forgot was open, creating that hum? What might you find by simply sitting with the uncertainty and the response it creates within you?

You might find a conflict between what you are doing and your "why."

In our drive to achieve success, we can lose track of the reason for our work. Might the hum be calling your attention to a conflict between your values and how you are managing your days?

You might find a fear that you aren't enough for what's coming.

We grow through discomfort and disruption. Changing circumstances that stretch our current skills, disrupt our routines, and disorient our thinking can also provide a way of visioning that opens to innovation. Could sitting with the uncertainty of what's next provoke a learner's or "newbie" mindset that allows you to see opportunities to innovate in disruption?

You might see the future from which you will lead.

What challenges or issues have you "felt" coming but refused to name? The team may not sense it, but you do. Could the low hum be calling you to sit and see what you've been busily pushing to the side? You cannot lead your organization toward a future you cannot yet see, from a present you have not yet named. Exercising the courage to sit with uncertainty and name what you have been avoiding could open the door to the shifts your organization requires to successfully navigate the future.

Sitting with it together

Sitting with uncertainty is hard to do alone, and harder still to do as a team. Most leadership teams are so focused on the next deliverable that no one has permission to name what everyone half-senses is coming. The hum gets louder, and the conversation never happens.

That's why I created The Braver Table: a facilitated space where leaders slow down long enough to name the present honestly and see forward together. Around the table, your team practices the very things this post describes: reconnecting daily work to your shared "why," trading the fear of not being enough for a learner's curiosity, and naming the challenges you've been pushing aside, so you can lead toward the future instead of reacting to it.

If your leadership team is carrying a hum it hasn't yet named, let's set a Braver Table for you. [Reach out here] to talk about bringing The Braver Table to your team.