I have heard the word “uncertainty” more in the past month than in the last decade combined. And for good reason.
Everything is “uncertain”:
Will prices continue to increase?
Will tariffs remain in place?
Will we enter a recession?
Will the stock market continue to drop?
The list goes on and on.
It surprises me how many people think they can make sense of the current chaos. We’re in uncharted territory, and pretending we can predict what comes next is a waste of energy.
What we need right now isn’t better predictions, but more clarity.
A core job of any leader is to project a sense of certainty onto the people under their charge. This is true of Boy Scout troop leaders, who need to know which trail to take; cult leaders, who need to know when armageddon will strike; and the leader of any country, who needs to know how to steer the ship.
I could write about the President’s current failures in that department, but I’ll save you the time.
It’s easy to point fingers at others, but most leadership failures aren’t in the headlines – they’re in our homes, our relationships, and our teams.
As a dad, my primary job is to project certainty for my two young children. They need to know when to expect their next bottle and their next nap. They need to know that when I pick them up, I will shower them with love, not yell at them. They need to know that when they go to sleep in the dark, they won’t be left there indefinitely.
In any healthy relationship – romantic or platonic – both people need to know what to expect from the other. Without emotional consistency and dependability, it is difficult to build trust and connection. If you never know whether I’ll be angry, joyful or unresponsive, you’re not going to want to spend much time with me.
And at work, if I can’t set clear priorities for my team to follow, they won’t be motivated to get anything done. “He’ll just change his mind tomorrow.” How many of us have worked for leaders like that at some point in our careers?
Even for personal goals and hobbies, an erratic approach will lead to fewer results than a consistent one. If I bounce between cardio one week, strength another, muscle gain the third – I won’t make much progress toward any one of those fitness goals.
Consistency builds trust and momentum. Just like a business can’t plan for the future with unclear goals, all of us struggle to operate in an unclear environment.
In my experience, the most effective leaders, both at work and in my personal life, do two things very well:
They are predictable: You know what to expect from them, whether it’s their tone, their routine or their mood. My high school lacrosse coach had us run sprints at the same time each practice, on the same days each week, so we never complained. It’s better to be predictably tough than easy one day and strict the next.
They are consistent: Their values show up everywhere – in what they say, what they do and how they treat people. My dad taught me and my sister money lessons in the grocery store aisle, with our allowance each week and when we got our first paychecks. “Do as I say, not as I do” is the opposite of true leadership.
The good news is that we are all better judges of our own leadership than we let on. When I fail to act predictably and consistent to my values, I know it. My issue isn’t lack of awareness, but justification:
“I was distracted during that career conversation because I have a lot going on.”
”I was short with Anne because I didn’t sleep well last night.”
But excuses are excuses!
If we wouldn’t accept them from our public figures, we can’t accept them from ourselves.
Emmett
What I’m Reading:
Americans Haven’t Found a Satisfying Alternative to Religion – Lauren Jackson
“I spent my 20s worshiping at the altar of work and, in my free time, testing secular ideas for how to live well. I built a community. I volunteered. I cared for my nieces and nephews. I pursued wellness. I paid for workout classes on Sunday mornings, practiced mindfulness, went to therapy, visited saunas and subscribed to meditation apps. I tried book clubs and running clubs. I cobbled together moral instruction from books on philosophy and whatever happened to move me on Instagram. Nothing has felt quite like that chapel in Arkansas.”