When Uncertainty Is Your Job, EQ Is Your Advantage
Hi! I'm Andrea J. Miller, and this is my “On Leading Well” Newsletter. I send this to people in my networks, people I’ve met recently, and friends I want to keep in touch with. You can unsubscribe (AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE EMAIL) anytime, I won’t be offended.
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When Uncertainty Is Your Job, EQ Is Your Advantage
The economic pressure is real.
The layoffs are real.
The AI shift is not hypothetical. It’s happening. Right now.
People are scared—for good reason. And if you’re in a leadership role, you feel it too. You’re responsible for results. You’re responsible for people. You’re expected to project confidence when you don’t have certainty.
This is the part of leadership no one wants to talk about:
What it means to lead when you don’t know what’s coming.
Why This Hits Leaders So Hard
Uncertainty doesn’t just affect operations. It affects cognition and emotion. Research shows our brains interpret unpredictability as a threat. That triggers anxiety, reduces strategic thinking, and narrows focus.
In leadership, that’s dangerous.
You stop making bold decisions
You default to old, familiar habits
You communicate less, or not at all
Your team senses it and loses trust
You can’t afford to lead from that state. Which is where emotional intelligence (EQ) comes in.
EQ in Uncertain Times = Self-Awareness + Self-Regulation + Steady Communication
This isn’t soft stuff. It’s the foundation.
Emotions are contagious, if you can’t regulate your internal state, you’ll transfer it to everyone around you.
Teams don’t just react to your words. They react to your nervous system.
If you’re anxious, they’re anxious.
If you’re scattered, they’re unfocused.
If you’re silent, they assume the worst.
The leaders who stand out right now aren’t the ones with perfect plans.
They’re the ones who know how to stay clear and act when the path isn’t obvious.
Five Actions That Actually Help
This is a practical leadership playbook for navigating uncertainty. Keep it close. Use it weekly.
1. Stabilize Yourself First
Block 15 minutes daily to assess and control your emotional state.
Use whatever works: journaling, walking, structured thinking, breathwork.
Ask: What’s true right now? What’s noise?
Don’t react out of fear. Respond with clarity.
If you can’t lead yourself, you can’t lead anyone else.
2. Say What’s Real
People don’t need spin. They need leaders who tell the truth and create direction.
Try this phrase:
“Here’s what we know. Here’s what we’re watching. Here’s what we’re doing next.”
Don’t promise certainty. Model calm action.
3. Redefine Your Plan in Shorter Cycles
Reduce your planning window to 2–4 weeks.
Set one clear outcome and one clear experiment.
De-risk through fast feedback. Learn as you go.
Action beats perfection.
4. Start Using AI—Even If You’re Not Sure How
The worst response to AI is to wait. Here’s a quick way to start:
WEEK 1: Learn
Ask ChatGPT: What are 5 AI use cases in my role or industry?
Watch a 10-minute YouTube explainer on generative AI.
Follow me and others who write about AI on LinkedIn
WEEK 2: Try One Use Case
Summarize a report. Draft a policy. Brainstorm with AI.
Document how much time it saved—or didn’t.
WEEK 3: Share It
Start a weekly 15-minute team demo. Low stakes, no slides.
AI is not a department. It’s a leadership skill.
You need to show your team what experimenting looks like.
5. Lead Emotionally, Not Just Operationally
Check in with your team on how they’re actually doing.
Make space for questions, doubt, and reflection.
Reinforce what you stand for, not just what you do.
Leadership right now isn’t about controlling outcomes.
It’s about guiding humans through complexity—with clarity and action.
Final Thought
I don’t believe in “waiting for things to settle.” That’s not how this works anymore.
I’ve lived through real personal uncertainty—deaths, injury, surgeries, and the pressure of keeping a business alive through it all. And I’ve learned this:
The right time to act is not after things get clear.
It’s because things are unclear that action matters.
If you’re a leader, this is your moment to decide how you want to show up.
And if you want weekly (sometimes more often) AI tips and tools to help you do that, I write about this in my LinkedIn newsletter:
Smart, practical, actionable tools for a world that won’t slow down.
Let’s lead better. Together.
—Andrea