How to Support Your Team When Anxiety Is High
Five actionable strategies to lead through ambiguity – because the world won’t stop surprising us
Being a culture consultant is tough right now. Not a day goes by without a client asking me to help their teams manage constant anxiety.
An innovation director described how her leader encouraged the team to become more “experimental” and explore how to incorporate AI into the workflows – though it seemed he was really looking for ways to replace them with algorithms.
A CTO at a government university told me how he received instruction from the new administration that attacked the foundational values that made the institution so successful.
Meanwhile, a marketing director at a recently merged manufacturing firm realized that the “synergy” everyone was celebrating meant his team had to deliver three times the work with half the headcount.
Anxiety is dominating every conversation lately. This isn’t just regular uncertainty – we’re experiencing a fundamental reshaping of work itself. The social contract is being rewritten, and people feel excluded from the negotiation table – worried that others are defining their future, one they wouldn’t choose.
And people are looking to you for answers you don’t have.
Anxiety Kills Productivity
“They said that change was accelerating in 1900. They said it in 1920. In 1940, in 1960, in 1980 and in 2000. So, the presumption is that the people who said it before were wrong, but we’re right now.” – Chris McKenna
Rapid change is not something new. However, this “hyperventilation” of change makes things worse, promotes more fear, and increases anxiety. This obsession with the future discourages us from living in the present or learning from the past. Rather than accelerating into change mode, perhaps we need to slow down – a better skill to understand and manage ambiguity.
Anxiety functions like a thick fog that paralyzes even your highest performers. Projects stall as team members spiral into worst-case scenarios. Innovation suffers as creative risks feel too dangerous. Mental bandwidth is consumed by anxiety rather than work.
However, denying ambiguity or confusion doesn’t work either – it only increases anxiety.
We’re wired to hate uncertainty. Studies show we prefer a negative outcome that’s certain over a potentially positive but uncertain one. When information challenges our worldviews, we cling tighter to our beliefs, becoming less adaptive.
The consequences escalate rapidly. Trust erodes as team members interpret ambiguous signals in different ways. Rather than focusing on “what’s the best that can happen,” teams get caught up in unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Some retreat into denial (“everything's fine”), refusing to share how they’re really doing. Others are consumed by catastrophizing ("we're all doomed”), unable to focus on the present. Many adopt overgeneralization (“every reorg ends in disaster”), assuming previous bad experiences will repeat over and over.
Meanwhile, you’re caught in an impossible position – expected to provide certainty when you have as many questions as your team.
Five Proven Strategies to Lead Through High Anxiety
Anxiety doesn’t result from external events but from our reactions. We can’t anticipate or control external forces, but we can focus on what we can influence today.
Easier said than done? Not necessarily. With intentional practice, you can help your team navigate uncertainty more effectively. Here are five actionable strategies I apply with my clients.
1. Acknowledge Everyone’s Anxiety
Pretending everything is fine when it clearly isn't compounds anxiety. Our brains detect incongruence – when words don't match reality, trust erodes quickly.
Research shows that stress isn’t always harmful if we know how to use it. Embracing it can make us stronger, smarter, and happier.
Create dedicated moments in meetings or one-on-ones for emotional check-ins. Help colleagues develop a richer vocabulary using tools like the Emotional Culture Deck or The Wheel of Emotions. The difference between "I'm stressed" and "I'm feeling uncertain that my role will be valuable in this new structure" is profound. Precise language gives people more control over their responses.
Share your own feelings thoughtfully – not to burden your team but to model honesty. You can acknowledge emotions without blaming others: “It’s a stressful time for me, too,” rather than, “I’m disappointed that our executive team is taking too long with the post-merger structure.”
2. Expand the Clarity Zone
I created The Ambiguity Canvas© to help teams have more structured conversations when things feel hard to understand. This framework helps teams map the current landscape across three distinct zones: Clarity, Confusion, and Chaos.
Download a copy of the template
The Clarity Zone contains what we know, from mindsets and skills to practices and agreements. This includes everything we know – what we master. We want to continue learning, improving it, and making sure everyone’s on the same page.
The Confusion Zone includes what we don’t know but can learn through exploration. We sense changes, test hypotheses, and adapt our behaviors and practices. Through experiments and adaptive learning, we gradually move things from confusion to clarity, reducing anxiety.
Finally, the Chaos Zone contains what drives our deepest anxiety: What we can’t yet understand, explain, or influence. Rather than getting stuck in fear, teams should discern real concern from distant issues, prioritizing what’s worth addressing now and what can be set aside or ignored.
After mapping the different zones, strategize specific actions. This framework transforms vagueness into clarity and anxiety into action, giving teams a sense of agency amid uncertainty.
3. Communicate As Clearly as You Can
When external circumstances create confusion, your messages must be clear, concise, and competent.
Start with the headline. Lead with the headline – the most important point – before getting into the details. This ensures people don’t get distracted by non-critical information.
Context amplifies content. Help people understand why some things are still being decided or why you can’t share more details yet. Your team might not agree with the decisions, but at least they can appreciate your reasoning.
Avoid excessive context. Get to the point as quickly as possible. Too many details overwhelm people and seem like you’re avoiding bad news.
Transparency means not hiding critical stuff, not sharing everything. As a leader, you have to keep information confidential until your own leaders let you share. While this doesn’t mean hiding critical information, it also means understanding that transparency doesn’t mean sharing everything – including your own feelings or concerns.
Validate understanding – and follow up. Effective communication requires a sequence, not a one-off. Check for understanding by asking team members to reflect back what they heard in their own words. Schedule frequent communication check-ins to keep everyone updated as more information becomes available.
4. How to Answer When You Don't Have Answers
Intellectual humility is the most powerful leadership skill to navigate uncertainty. It’s about acknowledging you don’t have all the answers. Saying, “I don’t know” feels counterintuitive – and even weak – for many leaders. But it’s the most powerful way to build trust; people value honesty over bullshit.
Focus on what you can answer. For example: "Here's what I know with confidence, here's what I'm still figuring out, and here's when I expect to get more information."
Provide context around unknowns. Explain why certain information isn't available yet. This helps reduce anxiety but shows that there’s some structure or logic to address the uncertainty.
Don’t try to fix everything. As a leader, it’s tempting to play the superhero part and provide answers even when you can’t. Focus on the Clarity and Confusion zones; trying to address the Chaos adds unnecessary anxiety.
Show your commitment. Not having the answer doesn’t preclude showing that you care. You can say, “I don't yet know how these changes will affect our department structure, but I commit to continue fighting to get our key priority projects remain funded.” Commitment provides certainty amid ambiguity.
5. Act Clearly
Your behavior is the most visible signal that helps teams navigate through ambiguity. Inconsistency between words and actions creates more confusion and erodes trust when you need it the most.
Make clear decisions aligned with priorities and values. The disconnect between what leaders say and do is another one of the key anxiety drivers. As I observe in my consulting work, there’s one thing that teams tolerate less than uncertainty: when leaders create more ambiguity instead of leading through it.
Avoid the temptation to change direction. There’s a difference between adaptability and constantly changing course. When shifts are unavoidable, acknowledge them without trying to justify self-created chaos.
Make work more meaningful. Connect everyday tasks or projects to the team purpose or legacy. Establish quarterly, short-term milestones to create a closer, more visible sense of stability. Staying focused on “why” brings clarity to what the team is working toward.
Celebrate quick wins. Nothing builds momentum faster than celebrating progress. When people are busy doing great work, they have less time to worry about uncertainty and the unknown.
Model the resilience you want in your team. This doesn't mean suppressing authentic reactions but demonstrating healthy processing of uncertainty. Model using stress as fuel rather than complaining about the unknown.
Focus on the Present
The future of work is being rewritten before our eyes. While you can't control technological disruption or political upheaval, you can equip your team so they don’t get paralyzed by uncertainty.
Your role isn't to predict the future with perfect accuracy but to navigate the unknown together. By acknowledging anxiety, expanding the clarity zone, and communicating consistently, you can transform ambiguity from a paralyzing force into fuel for growth.
What specific steps will you take today to support your team when anxiety is high?
Need support helping your team navigate ambiguity and uncertainty? Reach out, and let’s discuss how I can help you.