Have you noticed that the word "unprecedented" has been getting quite the workout lately? From AI disruption to geopolitical tensions, supply chain chaos to shifting employee expectations, the first quarter of 2025 has delivered volatility on virtually every front. If leading your organization is starting to feel like navigating Class V rapids without a paddle, you’re not imagining it – and you’re not alone.
The Multi-Crisis Reality
In my conversations with executives across industries, the same themes keep surfacing:
- AI is upending business models overnight
- Global supply chains are as predictable as toddlers on sugar
- Workforce expectations continue to shift and evolve post-pandemic
- Regulatory scrutiny is ramping up, not down
It's a lot. And it’s exhausting.
The average adult makes over 35,000 decisions per day. And all that constant pivoting and those last-minute calls C-level execs are being asked to make? It's wearing down even the most seasoned leaders.
It’s time to face the truth: if you are leading through VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) times, the old leadership playbook just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Why Traditional Leadership Models Are Failing Us
Volatility triggers threat responses – in your team and in you. This means innovation gives way to risk aversion, information gets hoarded instead of shared, and decision paralysis starts masquerading as thoughtful deliberation.
So what’s lacking in traditional leadership models, the ones that position execs as “commanders” rather than leaders? The answer is simple: psychological safety.
According to Harvard’s Amy Edmondson, leaders navigating volatile times “no longer have the option of leading through fear or managing through fear… It doesn’t work – either as a motivator or as an enabler of high performance.”
Translation? If your people don’t feel safe, supported, and valued, they won’t speak up. And if they don’t speak up, you won’t have the information you need to lead wisely.
This may sound tricky to navigate – but if you’ve been following me for a while, you likely already have the tools you need to keep volatility from weakening your team…
The Secret Weapons You Might Be Underusing
Technical skills? Necessary. Strategic thinking? Still important. But there are two (hopefully) familiar skill sets that can help you get through the worst of times: emotional intelligence (or EQ) and resilience.
Why? Because volatility activates our amygdala – the fight-or-flight center of the brain. And unless we interrupt that pattern, our most rational thinking goes offline right when we need it most. Research shows that leaders who master EQ essentials like empathy are over 40% more effective in day-to-day leadership tasks like decision-making and coaching and engaging their teams. That’s not a rounding error – that’s a game-changer. And in 2022, researchers from the Canadian College of Health Leaders concluded that a leader’s personal resilience (good or bad) is reflected in their organizations.
AND here’s the curveball: EQ and resilience aren’t about being completely unshakeable. The most emotionally intelligent leaders I know don’t pretend to have it all together. They model appropriate vulnerability – and in doing so, create space for everyone else to do the same.
Leadership Strategies for 2025 and Beyond
Wondering how to put your “EQ toolbox” to work right now? Here are five ways to prepare for the future while forging your path through the muck:
1. From Prediction to Adaptation
The illusion of forecasting certainty? It’s gone. Research shows that thriving organizations don’t predict better – they just adapt faster.
Build shorter strategic cycles, develop multiple scenario plans, or set up market "listening posts" so you can spot change early. In short: build for response, not perfection.
2. From Commander to Context-Creator
In times like these, command-and-control leadership simply can’t keep up. Your job isn’t to have all the answers – it’s to build a human system that generates better answers, faster.
That means setting clear principles to guide decentralized decisions, creating psychological safety so people speak up, and modeling transparency when you don’t know the way forward.
3. From Chief Problem-Solver to Capacity-Builder
When crisis hits, it's tempting to jump in and fix everything yourself. Resist that urge – “hero leadership” tends to slow organizations down!
Instead, teach your team how to think, not what to do. You might even try to incorporate learning cycles to encourage rapid adaptation. Prioritize time for recovery, regulation, and decompression – because this is a marathon, not a sprint!
Bonus Strategy: Rediscover Your Leadership Constants
Since you’ve made it this far (thanks for sticking with me!), here’s a final move worth making: clarify your leadership constants.
As one of my podcast guests, Jonathan Reckford, beautifully put it:
"It's always under stress when your values get revealed…The storm reveals how good the foundation is."
When everything’s shifting, anchoring to what’s NOT changing becomes a source of stability. That might mean your organization's purpose, your values, or the handful of non-negotiables that define how you lead, no matter the conditions.
Your Path Forward
The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Risks Report suggests we’ve entered an age of permanent disruption. The leaders who thrive won’t be those waiting for calm seas – they’ll have learned to navigate high waves with agility, self-awareness, and courage.
So I’ll leave you with two questions:
- What emotionally intelligent practice will you commit to this week?
- What leadership shift could help you lead more effectively through volatile times?
We’re in this together. Let’s lead accordingly.