Tim Ryan is the U.S. chair and senior partner of PwC and founder of the Trust Leadership Institute.

7 tips on navigating uncertain times

1. Create a 'company-first' culture

Ryan writes that most top companies have created a "company-first" culture, meaning they do what's right for the business and their people rather than driving individual objectives or agendas.

One CEO from a high-performing industrial company told Ryan that being part of his leadership team is like being on a sports team. "The team comes first, not the star individual," the CEO said.

2. Think and act across the enterprise

Top leadership teams recognize "that their role extends beyond the individual unit they manage, and they operate across silos," Ryan writes.

One CEO from a leading digital bank said his team's enterprise-focused mindset led to a reimagined customer experience which resulted in industry-leading efficiency ratios. This was achieved through sharing data across the enterprise and committing to one set of data governance rules, Ryan writes.

3. Maintain a relentless focus on reinventing the business

CEOs and senior leadership too often spend the majority of their time focusing on "running the business, while the portfolio and business-model reinvention takes a back seat," Ryan writes. Instead, companies should focus on reimagining their business.

Ryan recommends "bold actions," including running the business with unparalleled discipline, managing costs, simplifying wherever possible, and pulling on every lever to win. Bold actions also include "reshaping portfolios while reinventing the back, middle and front offices—with a sense of urgency."

4. Free up the right people for the hard stuff

Reinventing the business requires dedicated employees who aren't focused on managing other things, Ryan writes. Top leadership teams find time to focus on hard things and delegate day-to-day operations elsewhere.

One CEO from a major energy company placed one of his top business leaders in charge of an enterprise-wide business model transformation to ensure the transformation's success and to send a clear message to stakeholders of how important the transformation was.

5. Be inclusive of different backgrounds and skills

Top leadership teams are inclusive in every way possible, not just of different genders and ethnicities, but of diverse views, backgrounds, and skill sets, Ryan writes.

It's vital to have a variety of leaders within your C-suite bringing forth different types of expertise and perspectives in order to robustly innovate and accelerate transformations.

6. Encourage healthy debate but don't undermine fellow leaders

A good team has healthy debates, transparently talks about pros and cons, and explores alternatives, Ryan writes. Before any transformation effort begins, teams spend time agreeing on what their desired outcomes and business requirements are.

According to Ryan, based on his conversation with one CEO of a major industrial company, leadership is "about coaching the team to share their various points of view, challenge each other with healthy debate, and come together once a decision is made to row in the same direction."

7. Be humble and objective

Top companies constantly challenge themselves and use their objectivity not only to drive performance, but also to beat out the competition and hold off shareholder activists, Ryan writes.

The CEO of a consumer technology company emphasized to Ryan the importance of bringing an outside-in perspective to a company through the board, as these members can help the C-suite "look around corners, prepare for potential challenges, and discover blind spots." (Ryan, Harvard Business Review, 6/22)

Uncertainty (in your role, on your team, in the industry) can feel uncomfortable. When entire organizations pursue certainty by maintaining the status quo, they become defunct as the market shifts. Instead of fighting to reduce uncertainty, embrace it on three levels: as a leader, with your team, and across your organization.