ist Magazine March 2022

Feature

Five Steps toDeal with Leadership Uncertainty By Dr. Maria Church, CSP, CPC

L eaders are often expected to have all the answers. Not only is this an expectation shared by many, it is regularly self-im- posed. If you do not have the answer to a leadership challenge, you may possibly feel inadequate or uncertain and vulner- able. None of these emotions feels good and are often frowned upon in the work- place – or so you may have been taught. Really? Are you really never supposed to experience uncertainty as a leader? You are a human being and hard-wired for struggle – stuff happens. You are com- posed of all the good, bad and ugly that comes with being a human, which is not the Hollywood version of leaders who ride into the scene to save the day. And with your humanness, you will sometimes –

make that many times, feel uncertain about your abilities. How do you work with uncertainty and vulnerability without going

crazy? Following these five steps will assist you during these times:

1. Embrace uncertainty and vulnerability. Reach into any doubts and fears you have and pull up and out all the anxieties and doubts. What do most leaders do with this uncertainty? Well, bury it of course. This strategy of burying and numbing may work for a while, that is until it shows up again as illness, ulcers, or worse.

Why do you think people in leadership roles are so stressed, obese and addicted? It is because feel- ings get buried and numbed. 

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istmagazine.com

March 2022