1. Leaders only showcase success

When tensions are high, it's tempting to help your team feel better by showcasing their achievements. But only focusing on outcomes can send the message that the only way to succeed is to never make mistakes, Fosslien writes. That means that when people in your organization hit bumps in the road, they're more likely to assume they're the only ones feeling low and will be less likely to reach out for help.

The next time you want to recognize your team's accomplishments, Fosslien recommends framing the story as a modified "belonging intervention," which aims to help listeners view challenges as normal and improvable.

While focusing on your team's successes, Fosslien also recommends answering the following questions:

1.       What difficulties arose along the way?

2.       What solutions did you try? Which of them worked, and which didn't?

3.       What lessons did you learn?

You should be able to include these questions without undermining a person's expertise, perhaps by saying something like "Complex projects never go completely according to plan. I'm proud of how this team was able to regroup and figure out a new path forward when our initial results weren't where we wanted them to be," Fosslien writes.

2. Leaders skip updating staff

A 2023 survey from Gallup found that employees are increasingly left out of the loop by their managers, and while it may be tempting to not provide your employees with an update when there's nothing you can confidently say, you still should, Fosslien writes.

"As a leader, you have more information than your reports, which means that members of your team are likely to interpret your lack of communication as evidence that bad news is brewing," Fosslien writes.

Instead, leaders should be transparent, even if that means letting the team know there's no news to share. If you feel comfortable with how often you communicate with your team, Fosslien writes that that means you're likely not communicating enough and recommends regularly asking yourself, "What have I not said?"

3. Leaders focus too much on the future

In uncertain times, leaders often become consumed with figuring out what should happen next and never look back to recognize what their team has accomplished, Fosslien writes. Research has found that praise is a strong motivator, but only a third of employees in the United States say they recently received recognition for their work.

Fosslien recommends setting aside time during your one-on-one meetings with employees to talk about what went well over the past week. You could also establish a monthly or quarterly recognition ritual, using 10 minutes of your team meetings to have your group discuss three things:

1.       What did we learn over the past couple weeks?

2.       What's going well that we should continue doing?

3.       What important progress was made?

Doing this will help remind your team that they're capable and that their work isn't going to waste, Fosslien writes.

4. Leaders try to hide challenges

There's a fine line leaders need to walk between being open about the challenges ahead and being optimistic about the future, Fosslien writes. If you pretend like nothing is wrong, your team may feel isolated, but oversharing isn't helpful either.

In fact, research has found that chronic venting — where a person rehashes the same problems without trying to understand or solve them — makes you and the people who are listening to you feel worse.

Instead of oversharing or pretending nothing is wrong, Fosslien recommends sharing what you're feeling and then providing a path forward. For example, you could say, "I know there's been a lot of change recently, and it's been stressful for me, too. That said, I'm fully confident in our team's ability to rally around our new objectives. We'll get through this harder period."

You can also share stories of emotionally intense challenges that your team or organization faced and overcame, Fosslien writes.

5. Leaders don't provide context

When people are worried about the future, it's important as a leader to explain why you're scheduling a surprise one-on-one meeting or moving a meeting at the last minute. If you don't, your team will assume the worst, Fosslien writes.

If you're about to send a message to someone on your team, take a moment to emotionally proofread what you wrote, Fosslien writes. If your email says, "Let's talk," but what you mean is, "Great job pulling together a first draft, let's talk through next steps," you will unnecessarily hurt someone's mood and productivity.

Similarly, if you schedule an unexpected meeting to review an upcoming presentation, inform the other person about why you're getting together. Avoid adding more stress to your team by taking the time to evaluate how your words and actions might be received ahead of time.

"Uncertainty is stressful and can leave employees feeling afraid and unable to perform at their best," Fosslien writes. "By being careful to avoid the common pitfalls listed above, leaders can reduce unnecessary anxiety and increase their team's performance. The best and most successful leaders are those who ensure people feel some sense of stability during difficult times." (Fosslien, Harvard Business Review, 2/20)

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