How Do You Lead When You Don't Know What's Next

Your brain is incredible at one thing during workplace uncertainty: turning missing information into a story that feels like fact. A surprise meeting invite lands. A reorg gets announced. A leader disappears. And suddenly your mind starts producing “answers” that spike stress and push you toward reactive choices. We slow that whole cycle down and replace it with something sturdier: clarity you can verify. I share a simple distinction that changes how you lead through change and ambiguity: a fact versus a mind read. Facts are observable and checkable. Mind reads are the conclusions we invent from limited cues, and they can feel real fast. I also tell two real corporate moments that drove this home, including an investor relations experience that later intersected with a $127 million earnings overstatement and federal investigations, plus the time my boss was terminated and I chose to prepare instead of panic, which helped me land an option before the axe could fall. Then we zoom out to leadership communication. When your team does not have information, they will create it, and rumours spread like wildfire. You’ll hear a practical, repeatable approach for leading through uncertainty: say what you can say, say when you do not know, say when you cannot share yet, and say it often. We finish with the one grounding question that cuts through anxious noise and points you to your next clear move: “What do I know to be true?” If this helps, subscribe, share the episode with a leader who needs it, and leave a quick review so more people can find the show.