Team Resilience in a VUCA World: How to Ground Your Team in Uncertain Times

In times like these — when volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) dominate — creating space matters. It invites presence. It signals that you care.

Leaders, especially those who are underrepresented in their roles, often feel the heavy weight of expectation. When the news cycle is spinning fast with layoffs, mergers, restructuring announcements, and AI integration, your ability to cultivate team resilience is more important than ever before.

To be clear, resilience doesn’t mean being tough or pushing through without complaint or introspection. It means creating a foundation of stability and psychological safety so your team can adapt, respond, and yes, even thrive in constantly shifting conditions.

Here are a few ways to introduce more surety and grounded leadership into your team meetings and company culture overall:

Normalize Uncertainty

Say the quiet part out loud. Admit that you might not know everything about what’s coming next — but focus on what you do know. When you model transparency to the extent you are allowed and admit ambiguity, you give your team permission to respect their feelings and trust you.

Create Guideposts

Even when strategy is shifting, some things stay steady: your team’s values, the stakeholders’ needs you’re committed to solving, and your team’s internal culture. Naming shared truths provides a sense of continuity and meaning.

Shorten the Time

Long-term goals can feel abstract or even irrelevant in turbulent times. So, ground your team in what matters right now. What’s in our control today? What do we need to accomplish this week? What are our big goals for the month?

Give a Why for the What

When changes are handed down from leadership or projects shift midstream, it can be disorienting. Whenever possible, offer context. Explain why the change is happening and how it aligns with broader organizational goals. Transparency is one of the most underrated tools for building team trust.

Prioritize Reflection

Deadlines are important. But, skipping reflection time robs your team of critical insights and future improvements.

Leading in VUCA Environments

Building resilience in a VUCA environment isn’t about toughing it out. It’s about leading with empathy, clarity, and grounded connection — especially when those around you feel uncertain. It’s challenging to build resilience in isolation. But together? Together, we can navigate the unknown with strength, purpose, and resolve.

If you or your team are navigating big transitions, pressure to perform, or mounting stress from constant change, know that support is available. Whether through workshops, team coaching, or even individual support, I’m here to help.

Read more in my Newsletter and DOWNLOAD a helpful resource to LEAD IN A VUCA ENVIRONMENT

This article was originally published on Medium. I’m sharing it here so my community has one place to access all of my writing and resources.