How To Address Uncertainty During Change Announcements

Most change initiatives don't fail because of the change that's happening, they fail because of how the change is communicated. I've watched brilliant restructurings collapse and transformative acquisitions unravel… Not because the plan was flawed, but because leaders were more focused on explaining the "what" and "why" than on how they were addressing the fears and concerns of the people on their team. People don't resist change because they don't understand it. They resist because they haven't been given a compelling story about their role in it. This is where the Venture Scape framework becomes invaluable. The framework maps your team's journey through five distinct stages of change: The Dream - When you envision something better and need to spark belief The Leap - When you commit to action and need to build confidence The Fight - When you face resistance and need to inspire bravery The Climb - When progress feels slow and you need to fuel endurance The Arrival - When you achieve success and need to honor the journey The key is knowing exactly where your team is in this journey and tailoring your communication accordingly. If you're announcing a merger during the Leap stage, don't deliver a message about endurance. Your team needs a moment of commitment–stories and symbols that anchor them in the decision and clarify the values that remain unchanged. You can’t know where your team is on this spectrum without talking to them. Don’t just guess. Have real conversations. Listen to their specific concerns. Then craft messages that speak directly to those fears while calling on their courage. Your job isn't just to announce change, but to walk beside your team and help your team understand what role they play in the story at each stage. #LeadershipCommunication #Illuminate

Meta just announced another AI reorg - again. While everyone debates strategy and spending, I'm thinking about the employees living through this constant change. Here's the reality: In AI today, rapid org shifts are inevitable. The technology evolves so fast that yesterday's structure becomes tomorrow's bottleneck. Meta's pattern isn't unique. Google, OpenAI, Anthropic - they're all constantly restructuring. But we're not talking enough about the psychological toll on the people building these systems. I've watched brilliant engineers go through three team changes in a year. They start questioning everything: Am I working on the right thing? Will this project even exist in six months? Should I even bother forming relationships with my new teammates? The human cost is real: ➡️ Senior engineers hoard knowledge because they don't know who they'll work with next quarter. ➡️ Mid-level engineers burn out not from technical challenges, but from repeatedly rebuilding trust and restarting projects. ➡️ Junior engineers never get the stability to develop deep expertise, or they never even get hired in the first place. Each restructure makes the next one feel more inevitable, more exhausting. People operate in permanent transition mode where creativity goes to die. As engineering leaders, we can't stop the pace of change in AI. But we can be intentional about how we shepherd our people through it: 👉 Acknowledge the emotional labor of constant change. 👉 Create stability where you can - rituals, standards, communication patterns. 👉 Invest in relationships, not just hiring. 👉 Be transparent about uncertainty. The race to superintelligence will be won by teams that maintain human connection and psychological safety while everything shifts around them. Here's the article: https://lnkd.in/eqy4VnkM

Since inauguration, nonprofits, governments, and higher ed have been in a state of uncertainty. The most acute effect? Decision paralysis. Contracts are delayed, teams are anxious, and leaders don’t know what’s coming next. Organizations in these sectors, built for slow, consensus-driven decisions, are struggling to respond to constant shifts. The result is churn, stress, ambiguity...AND complying in advance out of fear. We can each help bring clarity and calm to these situations. Whether you’re a CEO, a middle manager, or a program lead, you can model crisis communication by answering (or asking) three simple questions: 1️⃣ What do we know to be true? State clear facts. If you don’t know, ask the room. Example: “This executive order is in effect,” or “We have funding through next year.” 2️⃣ What remains uncertain? Don’t stay silent on unknowns—it breeds fear. Explicitly name the gaps: “We don’t yet know the impact on our programs, but we’re monitoring closely.” 3️⃣ Does this change what we should do right now? Be explicit about the impact on the day-to-day. Should your team continue as usual? Pause? Prepare contingencies? If this question is punted or delayed, everyone will make individual, implicit decisions anyways. So make them intentional. This framework has helped me as an interim CEO, in coaching program leaders, and in navigating crisis moments. And it needs to be repeated every few weeks right now (because uncertainty isn’t going away). We may not have all the answers, but we can choose to communicate in a way that fosters trust instead of chaos. Let’s bring clarity where we can. #Leadership #Communication #DecisionMaking

7 Phrases That Shut Down Trust in Times of Uncertainty (And What To Say Instead). In times of change, trust becomes your organization’s survival currency. But too often, I've witnessed the very words leaders use to comfort their teams end up doing the opposite. If you’re leading through uncertainty, here are 7 common phrases that erode trust and what to say instead. 1. “Everything's going to be fine.” Sounds dismissive. ✅ Try: “We may not have all the answers yet, but we’re committed to facing this together.” 2. “Don’t worry about it.” Shuts down emotion. ✅ Try: “What concerns you most right now? Let’s talk about it.” 3. “This isn’t personal.” Change IS personal. ✅ Try: “What concerns you most right now? Let’s talk about it.” 4. “We’ve been through worse.” Compares pain instead of validating it. ✅ Try: “This is hard—and your experience is valid.” 5. “Let’s just stay positive.” Toxic positivity kills real connection. ✅ Try: “It’s okay to feel what you’re feeling. What’s the next best step forward?” 6. “You should be grateful you still have a job.” Weaponizes security. ✅ Try: “I know this is a heavy time. How are you really doing?” 7. “We need everyone to be on board.” Pushes compliance over conviction. ✅ Try: “What would help you feel more aligned and supported in this?” Words matter. In uncertainty, the right words don’t just inform, they connect. And connection builds the kind of trust that outlasts any disruption. Which of these swaps do you need to practice this week? ♻️ Repost if you're committed to building trust through truth, not spin.

Conflict is created in a vacuum. Ever felt that uneasy silence in the office when new policies are announced, or sales numbers fall behind? That quiet can be more damaging than we realize. In the absence of clear communication, people fill in the gaps. And when those gaps aren’t filled by leadership, rumors and worst-case assumptions step in to take their place. Last week, I was reminded of a crucial principle from “Leadership Strategy and Tactics” by Jocko Willink: as leaders, we have to speak the truth—even the hard truths. Sure, transparency might seem risky, especially when morale is on the line. But people can sense when you’re sugarcoating or holding back. And when that happens, trust erodes faster than any dip in numbers ever could. Being upfront doesn’t mean spreading alarm—it’s about addressing reality with tact. If your team senses there’s something you’re avoiding, they’ll read into it, and the conclusions they draw often paint a much worse picture than the truth. Instead, set realistic expectations, explain the challenges, and acknowledge when things are tough. That honest connection strengthens morale, even in difficult times. If you’re leading a team through uncertainty or conflict, be honest with your people before the vacuum takes over. Keep people informed, invite open dialogue, and stay grounded in the truth. It’s a tough balance, but it’s the only way to prevent the ripple effect of silence. As a leader, you should ensure everyone feels grounded and equipped to handle the reality at hand. Leadership isn’t about protecting people from discomfort; it’s about building a resilient team that trusts one another and works through these uncomfortable challenges together.

So what do we say when we don’t have all the answers? Yesterday, I shared how internal comms and employee engagement pros are quietly holding the line while the world shifts under our feet. But let’s be honest—sometimes we don’t have clarity either. Tariffs shift, policies pivot, leaders reframe… and we’re still expected to be clear, calm, and confident. Here’s the truth I’ve learned (the hard way, more than once): 👉 You don’t need to have all the answers. 👉 You do need to create space for honesty, humanity, and connection. In uncertain times, people don’t expect perfection—they crave presence. 💬 Communicate what you know and what’s still in progress. 💬 Make space for employee voices, even when the news isn’t great. 💬 Use storytelling to ground people in the company’s mission and values. And most importantly: remind your people they are seen. Heard. And not alone. Because sometimes, how we say things matters more than what we say. So to my fellow comms folks: 🟣 You’re not just crafting messages. You’re helping people feel safe in a world that doesn’t always feel that way. 🟣 Keep showing up. Keep choosing clarity over noise. Keep being the calm. #InternalComms #EmployeeEngagement #LeadershipInUncertainty #FutureOfWork #HumanFirst