I had the most interesting call today.
I asked this leader a simple question: “If you had to name, in one word, the emotion most felt among your senior leaders right now, what would it be?”
Without hesitation: “High anxiety.”
“What about the rest of your workforce?”
“Same. Also anxious.”
I hung up thinking: if I had a nickel! Unfortunately, I’ve had this conversation way too often lately.
Here’s What Nobody’s Talking About
Of course we’re all anxious. The amount of change happening right now is insane. Mergers, layoffs, AI disrupting everything, markets all over the place … politics.
Here’s the thing that’s driving me crazy.
When we’re anxious, we’re basically in survival mode. You know that fight, flight, or freeze thing? That’s where we’re all living right now.
Innovation requires clear thinking. Creativity needs mental space. Accountability demands trust. Survival mode shuts all of that down.
Does it seem like your best people are checking out. Their brains are literally hijacked by stress.
The Thing About Leading Right Now
As for leaders, we’re caught in the same survival mode as everyone else. Our teams are anxious, our bosses are anxious, we’re anxious.
When you’re in survival mode, you default to what feels safe. The old playbook: “The way you’ve always done things.”
Unfortunately, the old playbook doesn’t work anymore. People need something different when they’re running on anxiety. They need leaders who can handle the uncertainty without making it worse.
The problem is you might be scared too. It’s OK, you’re not superman, you’re human too! It’s hard to try something new when everything already feels shaky, to show vulnerability when people need you to be strong.
When we find ourselves here, it’s easier to double down on control, or avoid the hard conversations. Or maybe you just push through and hope things settle down.
Please hear me when I say this: People are looking for leaders who can stay human when everything feels inhuman.
When you admit you’re still learning how to navigate this too, something shifts. You give everyone permission to stop pretending they’re okay.
Three Things You Can Actually Do
Just Name It
Stop acting like everything’s fine when it’s obviously not. Your people already know they’re anxious. Pretending otherwise just makes you look clueless.
I had a client try this last week. She opened her team meeting with: “I know there’s a lot going on right now. I’m feeling it too. What’s really on everyone’s mind?”
The relief in that room was immediate. When you acknowledge anxiety instead of dancing around it, people can stop wasting energy pretending they’re fine.
Create Little Moments of Safety
You can’t fix the uncertainty. You can create pockets where people feel steady again.
Try this: Ask “How are you handling all this change?” in your one-on-ones. Bonus: Just let them talk, skip the advice.
When people feel heard, their nervous systems start to calm down. When that happens, they can actually think clearly again.
Show Your Own Uncertainty
This one’s hard, but it’s gold. Share what you don’t know. Admit when you’re making it up as you go.
“I don’t have all the answers yet, but here’s what I’m thinking…”
“I’m learning this too. Here’s what I’m discovering…”
When you show it’s safe to not know everything, teams stop just surviving and start creating again.
One Final Thought
Anxiety tells you what matters to your people. Leaders who work with anxiety instead of against it build teams that actually get stronger because of it.
Please remember: Your people are human. And right now, they need leaders who remember that being human is kind of the whole point.
Leading through high anxiety isn’t something you have to figure out alone. If you want to talk about what you’re seeing with your team, reach out.
