Leading When Nothing Feels Certain
The Three Anchors
Early in my career, I learned something most leadership advice doesn’t teach:
Certainty isn’t something you wait for. It’s something you build, even while everything around you shifts.
I’ve worked with leaders across industries who face the same pattern: when external validation disappears, they freeze.
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The awards stop. The recognition fades. The support they relied on goes quiet.
And they wait…
For conditions to improve. For someone to tell them it’ll be ok. For the doubt to disappear.
That certainty rarely comes.
Here’s what I’ve learned works instead
THE THREE ANCHORS
When external certainty drops, these three practices keep leaders grounded:
Know What You Control
Most leadership advice tells you to ‘focus on what you can control.”
But here’s what they don’t tell you: sometimes its difficult to actually know the difference.
I’ve watched capable leaders burn months, sometimes years, trying to influence things completely outside their control
Waiting for market conditions to stabilize before making key decisions
Managing others’ perceptions instead of managing their own performance
Replaying past decisions, as if analysing them enough will change the outcome
Obsessing over future scenarios they can’t predict or control
Meanwhile, what they can actually control right now sits untouched:
Their response to current circumstances
The quality of today’s work
How they show up for their team this week
Whether they make a decision today or delay it another month
I learned this the hard way when external circumstances shifted beyond my control. Economic conditions deteriorated. Leadership priorities changed. Support I’d relied on evaporated
I couldn’t control any of that
But I could control how I showed up for my team. I could control the quality of my work. I could control the relationships I invested in within my community. I could control whether I made decisions or stayed frozen waiting for conditions to improve.
The moment I stopped burning energy on what I couldn’t influence and channeled everything into what I could actually control, everything shifted.
I focused on my team’s development. I built genuine relationships through community involvement. I showed up consistently. I made sure everyone who worked with me knew what I stood for and that I delivered on commitments.
The shift isn’t just knowing the difference between what you can and can’t control. It’s ruthlessly channeling your energy only where you have actual influence.
In practice, this looks like: stopping mid-spiral to ask yourself, “Can I actually do something about this right now?” If yes, do it. If no, redirect that energy to something you can move forward today.
Trust What You Know
Here’s the lie we sometimes believe: “If I’m not getting external validation right now, maybe I don’t actually know what I’m doing”
This is backward.
Your expertise doesn’t vanish when external validation does. The skills that worked before challenges hit, they’re still there. Your track record didn’t disappear just because current circumstances are difficult.
But I’ve seen this pattern repeatedly: accomplished leaders start doubting everything they know the moment external recognition fades.
The person who built strong client relationships for years suddenly questions whether they actually know how to connect with people
The leader who successfully navigated previous challenges starts thinking they got lucky before and don’t really have the capability.
The professional with a proven track record begins seeking constant external confirmation before trusting their own judgment.
I experienced this firsthand when recognition I’d built my confidence on disappeared. Awards stopped coming. The public wins dried up. The people who’d celebrated my success went silent.
And for a moment, I questioned everything I knew about my own capability.
But here’s what I had to recognise: my approach to building relationships hadn’t stopped working. My ability to deliver quality work was still intact. My leadership skills were still there. Those capabilities were mine - separate from titles, awards or anyone else’s current validation of them.
The mistake I’d made was thinking I needed continuous external proof to trust what I already knew worked.
When I stopped waiting for others to validate my expertise and started operating from what I knew to be true about my own capability, decisions became clearer. Movement became easier.
The shift is this: separate your capability from others’ current recognition of it.
Your expertise is yours. It doesn’t require constant external validation to remain real.
In practice, this looks like: making decisions based on what you know works, even when no one’s currently applauding you for it. Trusting your instincts when the external voices go quiet. Acting from your proven capability, not from the need for approval.
Move Before You’re Ready
This is the anchor that terrifies most
Because conventional wisdom says: don’t make major decisions until you have clarity. Don’t move forward until you’re certain. Don’t act until the doubt disappears and you feel ready.
That’s terrible advice
Waiting for complete certainty means waiting indefinitely. The doubt doesn’t disappear. You don’t suddenly feel ready. Clarity doesn’t; arrive before the decisions - it comes from making the decision and moving forward.
I’ve seen leaders make significant decisions while carrying doubt, debt and imperfect information. The difference between those who move forward and those who stay frozen isn’t the absence of fear or doubt
It’s that they don’t let the doubt make the decision.
I learned this when I faced one of the biggest decisions of my career while carrying significant debt, and doubt screaming in my ear that I wasn’t ready. I didn’t have all the answers. The fear was real. The imposter syndrome was loud.
But I also knew this: if I waited until I felt completely ready, I’d wait forever.
So, I focused on being decisive. If a decision proved wrong, I’d adjust quickly. But I’d make the decision rather than staying frozen in analysis.
I didn’t wait for fear to disappear. I didn’t wait for someone to confirm I was ready. I didn’t wait for perfect conditions.
I moved, and clarity came from the movement itself, not before it.
Here’s a common misunderstanding: courage isn’t the absence of doubt. Certainty isn’t’ the absence of fear
Certainty is knowing you can handle what comes, even when you don’t know exactly what’s coming.
It’s trusting that you’ll figure it out as you go. That you can course-correct. if needed. That movement creates information you can’t access while standing still.
In practice, this looks like: setting a decision deadline instead of letting things drift. Making the call with 70% of the information instead of waiting for 100% (which never comes). Taking the next right step even when you can’t see the full picture
The leaders who navigate uncertainty well aren’t the ones waiting for it to pass. They’re the ones moving forward while it’s still present.
What This Really Comes Down To
Most leaders wait for external certainty before they act.
Clear market conditions. Guaranteed outcomes. Someone to confirm they’re making the right call. The doubt to fully disappear. Permission to step forward.
That external certainty rarely comes.
But here’s what you have access to right now:
What you can actually control (not everything, but something, right now, today)
What you already know works (even if it’s not currently being validated externally)
The ability to move (even while doubt exists, even before you feel ready)
That’s not settling for less.
That’s how certainty is actually built.
Not by waiting for chaos to settle.
By anchoring yourself while things are still shifting.
These three anchors - Knowing what you control, trusting what you know, moving before you’re ready - aren’t theoretical concepts. They’re practical tools I’ve used myself and taught to leaders across industries.
They work when markets shift. When leadership changes. When support disappears. When external validation fades. When everything feels uncertain.
Because the certainty you’re waiting for isn’t coming from outside. You build it internally now, not when things finally settle.
Q’s For You…
What can you control right now?
What do you already know that you’re not trusting?
What are you waiting to feel ready for?
These aren’t rhetorical questions. They’re the three anchors and they’re available to you right now!
This is the work I do with leaders - building certainty from the inside out, so external chaos doesn’t determine your next move. If you want to explore this further, connect with me Boardroom HQ or keep reading here as we dig into what grounded leadership actually looks like.
This captures what leadership really feels like when there’s no clear path. I like the focus on showing up with steadiness even when you don’t have answers. It’s a good reminder that people don’t need certainty, they need presence. I must say I find anchor 3 the most challenging at times but I suspect I'm not alone. Thanks for sharing