Leading in a holding pattern

When a CEO or Executive leaves, it's not necessarily a crisis, but can be the start of a potentially long, uncertain and sometimes messy phase for those remaining.

Decisions are left hanging, work needs to be redistributed, people need to take on more, and rightly or wrongly, there's the smell of job insecurity in the air.

Your team is watching your response and asking whether this is going to be okay.

Most leaders in this position have said or heard some version of: "𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘈𝘜" And they meant it.

Then, despite best intentions, more change comes and trust has been kicked to the curb.

It's no longer realistic to say (or know) that further change isn't coming. We know it is, we just don't know what it will be.

An alternative to promising stability is to distinguish between what you know, what you don't, and what you can control.

"I don't have that answer yet" is a valid response and does not signal a lack of transparency. Rather, it's respect for your team's intelligence.

Reassurance can come instead from focusing on the work that matters, the team's strengths, the collective purpose, and a commitment to share what you know, when you know it.

Giving people a visible plan, even a provisional one can help. Acknowledge the difficulty, celebrate everyone stepping up and plan together with an understanding that it may change.

When the holding pattern ends, hopefully your team are feeling calm, clear, cared for and despite the disruption, have made great progress.