Every leader talks a big game about transformation.
But let’s get honest: Leading through uncertainty isn’t just a buzzword. It’s the hardest—and most necessary—work in modern leadership. And it’s where most leaders, no matter how seasoned, quietly stall.
What Stops Adaptive Leadership in its tracks?
Most leaders tell me the same three things, over and over, in slightly different ways.
Not enough information. No clear way forward. Stakeholders who “just won’t buy it.”
Sound familiar? It’s the standard playbook of surface-level blockers.
But beneath all the frameworks and fire drills, the real enemy is hiding in plain sight: our addiction to certainty.
And that addiction is the single biggest drag on adaptive leadership today.
It comes back to Three Challenges that our Leaders are willing to Admit
1. “I don’t have the right information.”
If you’re waiting for the data to get clearer, the forecast to stabilise, the path to light up… you’re in the Hesitant quadrant. Leaders here are stuck in endless analysis, paralysed by the fear of getting it wrong. The hunt for certainty becomes the reason for inaction.
*No surprise, then, that only 18% of leaders feel “very prepared” to navigate disruptive change and uncertainty - even as everyone claims it’s a top priority.*¹
2. “I don’t know how to respond (you know - none of my usual tricks are working).”
This is what happens when the playbook runs out.
Brittle leaders double down on control - tightening the screws, reissuing the old memos. Reckless leaders go wild - trying anything, changing before traction can begin, often making noise instead of progress. Both approaches are rooted in the same discomfort: not knowing.
*Almost 70% of change programs fail, and the culprit isn’t lack of vision - it’s a lack of adaptive leadership at the top.*²
3. “I don’t think this will land with my stakeholders.”
Here’s where the politics of certainty show up.
Will the board accept this?
Will my team back me?
Is it safe to challenge the old way?
So leaders pull back, soften the plan, or stall out - waiting for alignment that never comes.
*Only 8% of companies say their management is both highly agile and highly aligned - real markers of adaptiveness.*³
But what about The Unspoken Challenge? the Discomfort of Not Knowing
Here’s what no one says out loud:
“I am uncomfortable not knowing, and I’m not sure I trust myself or my team to lead through uncertainty.”
This is the shadow side of leadership.
It’s human. We build our reputations and self-worth on having the answer, projecting confidence, bringing order to chaos. Certainty is a drug, rewarded by markets, boards, even our own teams. The addiction is so strong that letting go, even for a moment, feels dangerous.
But here’s the paradox:
Adaptive leadership is forged in discomfort.
It’s about leading through uncertainty, not around it.
And the future isn’t waiting for you to feel ready.
*94% of CEOs say their business model needs to change in the next three years - yet only 6% feel fully confident they can lead that change.*⁴
What it looks like in Real Time
When leaders won’t (or can’t) confront the unspoken challenge:
Change programs wither, even with buy-in
Teams nod, then freeze (alignment on paper, fragmentation in action)
People avoid the hard conversations, default to the safe
Boards demand “confidence”, then punish honesty
Burnout spreads, because everyone’s faking clarity they don’t feel
Adaptive leadership isn’t about being fearless.
It’s about being willing to move - publicly, messily - through fear, ambiguity, and doubt.
How REAL adaptive leaders work
They don’t just say, “We’re agile.”
They model leading through uncertainty every day:
Naming what they (and the business) don’t know
Making bets when the outcome isn’t certain
Rewarding curiosity, risk, and learning, not just “being right”
Building trust and connection, even when things get wobbly
Letting go of control, so the team can step up
Adaptive leadership means letting go of the myth that your value is in always having “the answer.”
Your value? Creating movement when nobody else knows what comes next.
The Adaptiveness Model: Mirror, Not Label
The Adaptiveness Model isn’t just for classifying organisations, it’s for revealing blind spots.
Brittle, Hesitant, Reckless, Adaptive. These aren’t boxes, they’re postcodes you visit under stress.
The real work?
Spotting your patterns, owning your fear, moving anyway.
Your invitation: Are you Leading through Uncertainty, or waiting for certainty to return?
You’re not alone in these struggles.
But the difference between status quo and transformation is who’s willing to lead anyway.
Where are you gripping certainty, and what’s it costing you?
Which of the three challenges is surfacing for you, and what’s underneath it?
Who could you invite into the discomfort, to name what’s really going on?
If you’re ready to do more than just talk about adaptive leadership, let’s get to work.
Book a 20-minute Adaptive Lens session, or reply with the challenge you’re wrestling with most.
In a world moving this fast, leading through uncertainty isn’t just an edge—it’s survival.
Let’s build.
Sandy
References
2023 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends
https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/human-capital/articles/introduction-human-capital-trends.htmlMcKinsey & Company, “The Inconvenient Truth About Change Management”
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/leadership/the-inconvenient-truth-about-change-managementMcKinsey & Company, “How the Best Companies Capture Value from Agility”
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/how-the-best-companies-capture-value-from-agilityPwC 2024 Global CEO Survey
https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/c-suite-insights/ceo-survey.html