If you’ve been leading for more than five minutes, you know uncertainty is part of the job. But lately, it feels like the volume has been turned up. While mergers, market shifts, reorganizations, and leadership changes have always happened. What’s different now is that many of our teams are remote or hybrid, which means the “usual” ways we reassure people or keep them focused aren’t as easy to pull off.
The truth is, uncertainty is exhausting. People can handle bad news better than they can handle not knowing what’s coming. It creates stress, erodes trust, and, left unchecked, can paralyze productivity. As leaders—especially long-distance leaders—our job isn’t to make the uncertainty disappear (spoiler alert: you can’t), but to help our teams navigate it.
Be More Visible Than Feels Comfortable
When people are worried, silence is rarely comforting. In a remote environment, silence gets filled in with worst-case scenarios, rumors, and Slack threads that start with “Have you heard…?”
In uncertain times, leaders need to show up more often. That might mean more frequent one-on-ones, quick video updates, or a standing “ask me anything” session each week. You may feel like you’re repeating yourself or that there’s nothing new to share—but even repeating “Here’s what we know, here’s what we don’t” builds credibility and calm.
If you don’t actively create moments for your team to hear from you, they’ll fill the gap with speculation. And speculation is almost never a productivity booster.
Share What You Can, Admit What You Can’t
Leaders sometimes think that if they don’t have all the answers, they should wait until they do. In reality, holding back until you have the full picture makes you seem secretive or out of touch. Acknowledge what people feel and give them accurate information as quickly and candidly as possible.
Be transparent about what’s known, what’s unknown, and what you’re actively working to find out. When in doubt, use this simple framework:
- What we know right now
- What’s still unclear
- What’s next
This clarity doesn’t eliminate uncertainty, but it gives your team a snapshot of the situation and shows that you’re not ignoring it.
And remember—credibility doesn’t come from knowing everything; it comes from being honest about what you know.
Anchor to What Isn’t Changing
When everything feels up in the air, your people need to know what they can still count on. Remind them of the constants: the mission, the team’s core values, the work that still matters regardless of organizational changes.
This is especially important in remote settings, where physical separation can make people feel disconnected from the company’s larger purpose. Reaffirming those “north star” priorities helps keep people grounded and reminds them that not everything is shifting under their feet.
Double Down on Relationship and Trust
Remote teams don’t have the luxury of watercooler conversations or hallway check-ins that help reinforce relationships during stressful times. That means you have to be more intentional about connection.
Small actions matter—a quick personal check-in before diving into a project meeting, a casual “coffee over Zoom” with no agenda, or a team Slack channel dedicated to non-work chat. These aren’t distractions; they’re emotional stabilizers.
People are more likely to hang in during uncertain times if they feel seen, heard, and valued by their leader and peers.
Keep Their Mind on the Work
When anxiety is high, productivity often drops—not because people are lazy, but because mental bandwidth is being eaten up by “what ifs.” If people are constantly up on the absolute latest political, pop culture or company gossip, they may spend a lot of time “doom scrolling.” Encourage breaks from social media and the news. At least during working hours.
Model the Calm You Want to See
Your team will take emotional cues from you, even if you’re separated by thousands of miles. If you’re frantic, pessimistic, or cynical, they’ll mirror that energy. If you stay grounded, acknowledge concerns without amplifying them, and keep moving forward, they’ll follow suit.
That doesn’t mean pretending everything is fine when it’s not. It means demonstrating resilience—showing that while you may not control the circumstances, you do control how you respond to them.
The Bottom Line
Helping your team through uncertainty isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about giving them stability when the environment feels unstable. For remote and hybrid teams, that means being more visible, more intentional, and more transparent than ever.
You can’t remove all the unknowns, but you can help your people focus on what’s real, what’s important, and what’s within their control.
And when you do that consistently, uncertainty stops being a threat—and starts becoming just another challenge your team knows how to face together.
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