Establishing Stability in Times of Uncertainty

• Effective communication fosters greater alignment and transparency within the organization.
• Establishing a consistent communication structure with employees helps maintain focus on alignment.
• A strengths-based approach to change can reduce employee uncertainty.

Employees need stability and consistency from their leaders. This requires leaders to communicate clear direction and plans to their teams—going beyond just explaining the plan to showing how it will personally impact each employee.

However, data shows that only 22% of employees agree that their leaders provide clear direction for the organization—and that data was collected before the COVID pandemic! Therefore, it’s no surprise that in teams and organizations lacking effective communication, employees may feel isolated and disconnected.

To create stability, leaders must consider the frequency and tone of their communication with employees—how often they engage in coaching conversations—and ensure they actively listen and incorporate feedback into their conversations.

When employees are uncertain about what their leader is thinking or doing, they start creating their own mental narratives, which can lead to workplace rumors. Leaders can prevent this by maintaining regular, even daily, conversations with their teams to ensure alignment among team members and leadership. What leaders say matters just as much as how often they say it.

Employees closely analyze the actions and words of their leaders. The need for stability is both an emotional and logical response. Therefore, leaders must strike a balance between honesty and optimism about the future. Employees deserve honesty and should not have the truth hidden from them. In the absence of communication, unnecessary fear stemming from uncertainty may arise, which can undermine employee motivation.

Employees need to know whether their job security is stable (if it actually is). They also want to understand the future of the organization:

• Where is the organization headed?
• How financially stable is the organization?
• How will customer service be affected?
• What are the organization’s short-term plans to navigate difficult times?
• How can each individual contribute to helping the organization survive and ideally thrive after the crisis?

These are all messages that need to be communicated proactively and consistently with a realistic, direct, and honest tone.

A Strengths-Based Approach Builds Resilience

Any change management expert will confirm that change is hard. But why?

• Change leads to a loss of control, increased uncertainty, and emotional discomfort.
• Employees may start questioning their value, their contributions, and even their competence and effectiveness.
• This is why navigating change can be a significant driver of burnout.

About 73% of full-time employees say they experience burnout at least occasionally. Burned-out employees are:

• 13% less confident in their performance.
• 23% more likely to visit an emergency room.
• 63% more likely to take a sick day.

Stress related to change can undermine employee well-being. When well-being is low, teams are unlikely to be in the right mindset to take on new responsibilities.

It’s crucial for organizations to identify and develop employees’ individual strengths and encourage them to apply these strengths during difficult times. Employees who know and use their strengths at work are:

• Nearly 6 times more engaged with their organization.
• More likely to perform at a higher level.
• Less likely to leave the organization.

These employees are better equipped to handle uncertainty using reliable, strengths-based strategies that build confidence and reinforce their natural talents.

If you start by identifying talents and then help employees develop them into strengths, you’ll provide them with the tools they need to thrive.

Building a team with high resilience requires intentional effort. Remember, managers have the greatest influence on the people they manage. Even disengaged employees may look to their direct manager for stability and guidance during uncertain times.

Managers can prepare employees for change by:

• Having regular, meaningful conversations with them.
• Helping them integrate their strengths into their daily work.

A manager who knows their team’s strengths can present change in a way that makes sense to the employees and feels more acceptable to them. A strengths-based approach means that there’s no single “right way” to respond to change—it becomes a collaborative and trust-building experience where employees are empowered to show up as their best selves by using their strengths.

If you are interested in learning coaching skills to get better performance from your team, or to add an additional stream of income, then we invite you to contact ICE for information on the Coaching Business Accelerator.

All our Coaching programs are ICF accredited including the Level 1 Associate and the Level 2 Professional programs. They are designed for professionals who value progress and may transition to earning income from their coaching business.

It also includes the option for those of you who have had some ICF accredited training, to transition to level 2 by enrolling in the Bridge program. This will enhance your impact and add massive value for your business and clients.

ICE is the only ICF-accredited provider combining the coaching education certification with support to ICF credentialing, Business Accelerator, Strengths Coaching, and lifetime community and learning with custom pacing.

Taymour Miri is an ICF master coach and a Gallup certified strengths coach and more recently one of the first 136 coaches world wide to be awarded an Advanced Certificate in Team Coaching. He has 30 years’ experience in leadership roles and 20 years of experince in coaching. Taymour has trained over 1,500 coaches across five continents and is the founder of International Coaching Education (ICE).