How To Lead When Work Feels Uncertain and Overwhelming

Forbes

4 hours ago

From recent graduates to seasoned executives, I hear it every day in coaching sessions, advisory calls, and off stage: people searching for ways to steady themselves, lead with resilience, and offer stability to others - even as they quietly wonder, 'Will I make it through this?' or 'Do I even want to keep doing this anymore?'
There's the recent grad whose job offer evaporated in an unstable economy. The middle manager stretched thin, unsure if their role is next to be automated. The C-suite executive walking a tightrope, wanting to signal a commitment to inclusion while avoiding scrutiny. And employees interpreting every shift as a sign of risk or retaliation. In today's workplace, everyone is on edge.
We're not just navigating constant change and uncertainty - we're navigating the fragility born of it. Whether you're leading a team or stepping into leadership, the old playbook isn't enough. VUCA - short for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity, once helped leaders make sense of disruption. But today's challenges run deeper. Coined by futurist Jamais Cascio, BANI - Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, and Incomprehensible - better captures the emotional and structural disarray shaping how we live and work. As Jonathan Kruse writes, managing volatility and uncertainty is no longer enough. We must confront the fragility embedded in how we work and lead.
Journalist Jodi Kantor, speaking at Columbia University's 2025 commencement, pointed to the growing crisis of truth and the need for leaders who can make sense of the world:
Leading through BANI shouldn't just be about surviving the moment. It should be about becoming the kind of sense-making leader this moment demands.
These four practices can help - whether you're leading a team or leading yourself through a career transition - by building the resilience, grounding, agility, and discernment needed to thrive in today's world.
Brittle systems look stable until they're hit with change. One surprise mandate, lost client, tech hiccup, and things crumble. Resilient leaders, by contrast, design for stress. They build stretch into their practices and systems, giving themselves and their teams space to sit in and normalize change, not perfection.
Anxiety doesn't just live in our minds - it shows up in meetings, performance reviews, and how teams respond to change. Left unchecked, it can paralyze creativity and decision-making. But leaders can ground their teams by building psychological safety: a climate where people feel safe speaking up, admitting mistakes, and asking for help without fear of retribution.
As Morra Aarons-Mele, author of The Anxious Achiever, writes: 'Work can make us anxious, because people are messy and stress is real. And that is ok. Challenges can fuel growth but only if we stop hiding our emotions and get the support we need.' The antidote isn't to eliminate anxiety. It's to name it, normalize it, and create steadying practices.
In a nonlinear world, cause and effect are not always directly connected. In unpredictable times, it's less about rigid plans and more about learning quickly, adapting often, and staying responsive. The key is to flex your planning muscle in smaller doses, get input from across the organization, and treat every misstep as data you can use.
We're surrounded by data but starved for clarity. Complexity doesn't have to lead to confusion. When things feel incomprehensible, great leaders translate complexity into purpose, shared understanding, and trust within teams. You can move from assuming understanding to actively verifying it. Your teams will thank you for it.
Today's leaders - whether guiding teams or charting their next chapter - have an opportunity to redefine what leadership looks like in an age of fragility. When we lead with resilience, grounding, agility, and discernment, we make space for uncertainty, shape cultures that bend without breaking, and guide ourselves and others through change with clarity and courage.