Leading Through Uncertainty: Our CEO's Reflection on Year One
Photo Credit: Mike Uderevsky via Unsplash
After being the co-founder and COO for almost 20 years, my partner retired, and I became the CEO and sole owner of Henley Leadership Group. Almost immediately, the questions that often surface during a leadership transition started. Where are you taking us? What will change? And the unspoken, how might this affect me?
My response was simple and sincere.
We are doing very well with what we have built. I am not interested in radical change this year. Give me a year to listen, observe, and lead with respect for what is already good and working well.
I anchored myself in three priorities: maintaining business stability, strengthening internal systems to support growth, and empowering expanded leadership within the organization.
Now, at the close of that first year, I find myself reflecting not only on what has unfolded within our company but also on what it means to lead a business in this moment in the United States.
Leading in a Time of Disruption
For the majority of our clients and many of us, 2025 was a year marked by profound disruption, organizationally, socially, and personally. We have witnessed the intentional dismantling of systems and norms that were originally designed to support and honor our shared humanity. Where my views stand are important because they influence our actions, but no matter that perspective, we cannot argue about the disruption and its impact. Alongside that, we are experiencing rapid AI acceleration, waves of layoffs, increasing burnout, and a deep collective fatigue born of relentless pace and compounded by prolonged uncertainty.
I will be honest. This year has brought more grief, anger, and emotional intensity than most I can remember in my adult life. I am grateful for my amazing team and for our work, which has created what leadership consultant Meg Wheatley calls “an island of sanity.”
Because of our team and the impact of our work, it is easy for me to say in the face of all of it, I stand for hope.
Not a naive or bypassing hope, but a grounded belief that we will learn from and leverage this disruption and come out on the other side with new clarity and wisdom. That belief has quietly guided my leadership this year. Again and again, I have seen what becomes possible when I choose presence over my panic, and curiosity over my fear or cynicism. It is a conscious choice, not an automatic reaction.
The Myth of Certainty
Our nervous system craves clarity; it is primarily wired to help us survive. We want answers, plans, and certainty to relieve the tension and stress. Yet one of the most sobering truths I have come to accept is this: we live in an era that offers no simple or immediate solutions. For those who do not have the power to decide, I believe this has just intensified the stress.
Ultimately, what we all want to know: how will this impact me?
And so, we attempt to think and plan our way out of these complex challenges that lack easy answers, in insufficient chunks of time crammed between the demands of our typical workday. As an executive coach, consultant, and facilitator, I have seen this pattern repeat itself many times over the past few years.
I have watched detailed three- and five-year strategies lose their usefulness almost as quickly as they are written. I have witnessed significant reorgs roll out without a clear strategy for managing the impact on the people, leading to a significant reduction in productivity and an increase in stress and confusion. I am not saying these plans shouldn’t happen; I am suggesting that we should be less dependent on them as solutions and answers.
What has proven more durable is something else entirely: a clear vision, a shared sense of purpose, a loosely held framework, a deep commitment to notice what is emerging … and patience. This kind of leadership asks for grace from ourselves and for one another. It asks us to walk into the unknown together, trusting that insight will emerge through shared experience, intuition, and careful attention to what is unfolding in real time.
This is what I work to keep my focus as I enter my second year.
Our firm hosts a thought leadership writing group for our team of 30+, which is one of the highlights of my month. Anyone can attend. A question is offered, we free-write for 10-15 minutes, then read back what we wrote. Recently, the question was: What season is your life or your leadership in right now? Excerpts from my response were:
My personal life feels like late fall or winter, shaped by age and stage. My leadership, however, feels like spring, a season of anticipation, watching closely to see what wants to emerge after many years of tending the soil.
After more than two decades of cultivating an organization rooted in values, care, and impact, I am beginning to see these familiar elements take on new forms. The same foundational bulbs are there, proven and resilient, but with new nutrients added. What is emerging now feels bolder, more varied, and more alive with color and possibility.
New stripes of courage are showing up. New expressions of voice and vision. A deeper integration of social impact and community alongside strong, sustainable business practices. These are not departures from the past but evolutions of it.
The Power of Collective Tending
No garden grows on its own. What continues to inspire me most are the people who show up day after day, willing to do the unglamorous work of tending, getting dirt under their fingernails, kneeling into it, and staying present through challenges. That is not easy to do in today’s world!
Across cultures, identities, and geographies, I envision a shared commitment to creating environments where people can truly thrive. Not just perform … but belong, grow, and contribute meaningfully. That commitment shows up in how we serve our clients (and how they serve their people!), how we support one another, and how we respond when conditions are less than ideal.
The colors of this collective effort are vivid and unique. Each one matters. Each one leans toward the others in service of a shared goal. Yes, it is lofty, and yes, there is a significant gap. And yes, that is the exact point of a shared compelling purpose - something important enough to keep you rooted in what might be possible when there are dark days that make it hard to see clearly.
Looking Ahead
As I look toward the coming year, clarity is still emerging, and so am I.
I notice that I am increasingly at peace with not having all the answers. Personally, my commitment is to continue leading in a way that listens deeply, seeks wise counsel, and acts with integrity.
Leading in times like these also requires humility, courage, and an unusual tolerance for ambiguity. It asks us to stay awake to what is possible even when the path forward is not fully lit.
As we move into another year, my priorities remain the same. We will remain open, thoughtful, and steady as we continue to learn, evolve, and grow individually and collectively. When times are difficult, and we can’t see clearly, sometimes we will pause to see what we can bring into focus, and this year, we will take more leaps of grounded faith into the unknown. In these extraordinary times, we will take bolder action, trust our own sensibilities without proof or evidence, and be more willing to fail along the way to discovering what it means to have all people thrive in the workplace.
Reflection Questions for Leaders
What did this past year teach me about who I am as a leader, beyond what I planned or intended?
Where did I notice myself most challenged, and what might be worth paying attention to there?
What feels ready to evolve in how I hold vision, culture, and purpose within my organization?
What am I being invited to notice, listen to, or take seriously as I look ahead?
What does leading with openness, thoughtfulness, and steadiness look like for me in this next season?
If this resonates with where you are in your leadership, continue exploring it with us.
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