Introduction
The period between the old way of working and the new one — after a change has been announced but before it’s fully implemented — is where most change initiatives are actually won or lost. It’s also the period leaders are often least prepared to lead through, because it doesn’t come with a clear script the way an announcement or a final state does.
Acknowledge the Ambiguity Explicitly
Teams generally trust a leader who says “here’s what we know and here’s what we don’t” more than one who projects false certainty about a situation that’s genuinely still unfolding. Attempting to appear fully in control during a period of real ambiguity often backfires once the gap between the projected certainty and the actual situation becomes visible — which it usually does eventually.
Provide Stability Where You Genuinely Can
Even when the bigger picture is uncertain, leaders can provide real stability in smaller, concrete ways: consistent 1:1s, clear near-term priorities, predictable communication rhythms. These give people something solid to hold onto during a period when the larger structure is in flux, which meaningfully reduces the anxiety that ambiguity otherwise generates.
Make Decisions With the Information Available
Leaders who delay every decision until ambiguity fully resolves often create more anxiety than leaders who make a reasonable call with the information currently available and adjust as new information arrives. Waiting for complete certainty before deciding anything can leave a team without direction for longer than necessary, which compounds the very ambiguity the leader was trying to avoid acting within.
The Balance Between Honesty and Reassurance
Leading through ambiguity well requires holding two things at once: genuine honesty about what isn’t yet known, paired with enough confidence and stability in what is being actively managed that the team doesn’t feel abandoned to uncertainty. Leaning too far toward honesty without any accompanying stability can feel like an admission of helplessness; leaning too far toward reassurance without honesty can feel dishonest once reality catches up.
Practical Techniques for This Period
- Separate what’s known from what’s not known explicitly, rather than blending them into a single vague update that leaves the team unsure which parts are solid
- Set a predictable cadence for updates, even if the update is sometimes “no significant change yet” — the predictability itself provides stability, independent of the specific content
- Make near-term decisions promptly even while longer-term uncertainty remains, since near-term clarity meaningfully reduces the anxiety generated by longer-term ambiguity
- Model steadiness in your own demeanor, since a team’s sense of stability during this period is heavily anchored to whether their leader appears grounded or visibly rattled