--- title: Three Things Leaders Must Do in 2026 to Help Manage Uncertainty description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. canonical: https://time.com/partner-content/charter/7341019/three-things-leaders-must-do-in-2026-to-help-manage-uncertainty/ author: Brian Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-12-16T11:30:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-28T07:07:33.670Z article:section: Charter og:title: Three Things Leaders Must Do in 2026 to Help Manage Uncertainty og:description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. by [Brian Elliott](https://time.com/author/brian-elliott/) Executive-in-residence, Charter Brian Elliott is Charter's executive-in-residence and CEO of Work Forward. Dec 16, 2025 11:30 AM UTC  Art: Charter by [Brian Elliott](https://time.com/author/brian-elliott/) Executive-in-residence, Charter Brian Elliott is Charter's executive-in-residence and CEO of Work Forward. Dec 16, 2025 11:30 AM UTC At the [Charter Workplace Summit](https://www.charterworks.com/charter-workplace-summit-playbook-2025/) in October, Harvey chief people officer Katie Burke said something we can all relate to as we close out 2025: “I am sick of writing 'in these uncertain times.’” Early signals suggest 2026 won’t be any clearer. Between a [weakening job market](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/business/jobs-adp-economy.html?), debates over [who’s most at risk](https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-job-losses-are-coming-tech-execs-say-the-question-whos-most-at-risk-984331d4?) for displacement from AI, and whether or not an [AI bubble](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/podcasts/dario-amodei-dealbooksummit-2025.html?) will burst and do [broad economic damage](https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/why-bonds-wont-protect-you-from-an-ai-bubble-f32084fb?mod=Searchresults&pos=1&page=1), it’s no wonder [workforce confidence is low](https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/glassdoor-employee-confidence-index-october-2025/). Leaders feel frozen—they don't have all the answers and can't guarantee their teams' job security. Acknowledging the reality of that ambiguity, rather than pretending otherwise, is usually the best place to start, research tells us. Below are three steps leaders should take to help manage the state of flux and unpredictability they face in 2026: Sign up for Charter's newsletter to get the handbook for the future of work delivered to your inbox. Email Address You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our [Terms of Service](https://www.charterworks.com/terms-of-service/) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.charterworks.com/privacy-policy/). **Uncertainty triggers our worst fears—build trust with transparency.** [Research shows](https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2016/mar/uncertainty-can-cause-more-stress-inevitable-pain#:~:text=29%20March%202016,may%20inform%20judgements%20of%20risk.) people feel more stressed by a 50% chance of receiving an electric shock than by a 100% certainty they'll get one. As Ashley Goodall, author of [_The Problem with Change_](https://ashleygoodall.com/books), said at a recent [Charter Forum](https://www.charterworks.com/forum/) gathering: "Uncertainty being worse than physical pain helps you realize why sending the email 'hey, big change coming' might not be the best framing." Instead, narrate change regularly and openly. As former Levi Strauss & Co chief human resources officer [Tracy Layney](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracylayney/) told me, "The first instinct is, 'I don't know what to say, so I'm not going to say anything.' By not leaning in and just saying, 'Here's what I know and what I don't know,' you're actually making it worse." During the dotcom bust, even after multiple layoffs, my team at a tech startup rallied because transparency about our finances helped them understand which performance drivers mattered in turning the business around. The job of leaders is to remind people what's not changing, as well as what is, and to give them ground to stand on that feels more firm. Sharing broad uncertainty can increase concerns. As Boston Consulting Group partner [Gabriella Kellerman](https://www.linkedin.com/in/grkellerman/) [told Charter](https://www.charterworks.com/betterup-kellerman-ai/) earlier this year, “the more you emphasize that there's no plan—\[that\] we just really don't know—the more it reinforces that sort of suspicion.” Leaders need to lay out a path forward, helping teams develop what she calls [prospection](https://www.charterworks.com/betterup-kellerman-ai/), or the ability to create and evaluate possible futures by laying out trends, scenarios and evaluation frameworks rooted in longer-term goals. Leaders must speak with a “voice of authority,” [Ron Heifetz](https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/ronald-heifetz), founder of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School, [told Charter](https://www.charterworks.com/ai-leadership-playbook/) recently. Even when raising questions and stating uncertainties, they need to be realistic optimists: open about the challenges, transparent about the new opportunities in them, and effective at enlisting teams to find a way forward together. **Teams are your stability anchor—don't break them.** The answer to today's chaos is not an organization restructuring. Reorgs shuffle teams and destroy the relationships, rituals, and shared knowledge that make work happen. As Goodall said, "teams provide a sense of meaning. Not lofty meaning, but ‘I understand what my work does because I can see the impact on the people right here with me’ meaning." Strong teams also offer identity, trust, and stability that individuals can't create alone, making them the most important unit for managing change. An [extensive research review](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/organizational-psychology/articles/10.3389/forgp.2024.1439269/full) published earlier this year found that restructurings lowered job satisfaction and organization performance, and also increased resistance to change. Employees end up seeing themselves as interchangeable cogs, untethered from the bonds of their teams. Restructuring individual teams [disrupts the psychological safety](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2307/2666999) Harvard Business School’s [Amy Edmondson](https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6451) identifies as a key driver of performance. It’s possible to create stability in environments where team composition shifts frequently. In my experience leading product and technology teams, we had a general rule of thumb to not change more than 20% of a team’s composition on a quarterly basis. A team that changes 20% every quarter compounds to nearly full turnover annually. Especially during these changes, creating healthy team structures requires investing more time in leadership and connection. **To reduce workforce anxiety, leaders should model AI use and adoption.** No one knows how the future of work will unfold, especially when it comes to AI. The role of leaders is to equip their teams to thrive in a rapidly changing environment. "Our job is to make good sailors, not good weather," as Jasper.ai chief people officer [Alex Buder Shapiro](https://www.linkedin.com/in/abudershapiro/) said in a recent [podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/bh/podcast/lessons-from-leaders-how-ai-is-redefining-work-and/id1476885647?i=1000727352753). Clear leadership support of AI matters, and requires active participation, not just statements. For all the hype about AI, new data shared by Stanford economist [Nick Bloom](https://economics.stanford.edu/people/nicholas-bloom) shows that [more than 75% CEOs and CFOs](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4uye69d1322jk8543fjhn/NickBloom%5FSFFed1.pdf?rlkey=mjvyw3mbw9tfii3up4timeung&e=1&dl=0) use it less than an hour a week. That lack of direct usage leaves them more susceptible to hype and lowers the odds that employees adopt AI. Meanwhile, leadership support for AI initiatives [doubled the share of employees who were regular AI users from 41% to 82%](https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/ai-at-work-momentum-builds-but-gaps-remain), a recent BCG analysis found. To promote their usage, Layney thinks leaders should say ”’here's what I'm doing. I'm actually leaning into these tools because I know I also need to learn how they work.' That's how you help address fear. That's how you help address uncertainty." Modeling AI use also tackles two key related problems. [Workslop—](https://hbr.org/2025/09/ai-generated-workslop-is-destroying-productivity)or AI-generated output that looks like good work, but doesn’t actually help with real tasks—gets reduced when leaders discuss acceptable AI standards and make it clear that any AI output is owned by its creator. Meanwhile, AI hype fades when leaders are hands-on with their teams, understanding what's working and what's not. At [Zapier](https://www.charterworks.com/zapiers-counterintuitive-move-to-boost-pay-before-seeing-ai-improvements/), for instance, head of support [Lauren Franklin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenafearn/) spent hours every week using the customer support tools with her team. The work paid off: the team delivered a 50% reduction in average ticket handle time, customer satisfaction rose, employee engagement scores increased 20 to 30 percentage points, and Zapier increased support salary bands to the 90th percentile. The leaders who emerge stronger next year will be the ones who create clarity amid chaos. They'll maintain transparency about challenges, invest in their teams' capabilities, and model the same adaptability with AI that they expect from others. In a world where uncertainty is only expected to grow, having all the answers isn’t always the answer. A human-centered approach to leadership usually is. **For more on managing uncertainty and change, see:** * [Leading in the age of AI](https://www.charterworks.com/ai-leadership-playbook/): A playbook on practices for a new era * General [Stan McChrystal](https://www.charterworks.com/stan-mcchrystal-leading-through-uncertainty/) on leading through uncertainty * Strategies from [family businesses](https://www.charterworks.com/enduring-enterprise-qa/) for managing change and uncertainty --- ## Read more from Charter [READ MORE](https://time.com/partner-content/charter/) [Open article: What Jared Diamond Says Decides Whether Leaders Actually Matter](https://time.com/partner-content/charter/what-jared-diamond-says-decides-whether-leaders-actually-matter/)  ### What Jared Diamond Says Decides Whether Leaders Actually Matter [READ MORE](https://time.com/partner-content/charter/what-jared-diamond-says-decides-whether-leaders-actually-matter/) [Open article: Dr. Becky on What Good Parenting and Good Leadership Have in Common](https://time.com/partner-content/charter/dr-becky-on-what-good-parenting-and-good-leadership-have-in-common/)  ### Dr. Becky on What Good Parenting and Good Leadership Have in Common [READ MORE](https://time.com/partner-content/charter/dr-becky-on-what-good-parenting-and-good-leadership-have-in-common/) [Open article: The Three Ingredients for Building Trust](https://time.com/partner-content/charter/the-three-ingredients-for-building-trust/)  ### The Three Ingredients for Building Trust [READ MORE](https://time.com/partner-content/charter/the-three-ingredients-for-building-trust/) --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/partner-content/charter/7341019/three-things-leaders-must-do-in-2026-to-help-manage-uncertainty/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/partner-content/charter/7341019/three-things-leaders-must-do-in-2026-to-help-manage-uncertainty/"},"headline":"Three Things Leaders Must Do in 2026 to Help Manage Uncertainty","datePublished":"2025-12-16T11:30:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-28T07:07:33.670Z","description":"How transparency, team stability, and AI messaging can promote stability and trust in the year ahead.","url":"https://time.com/partner-content/charter/7341019/three-things-leaders-must-do-in-2026-to-help-manage-uncertainty/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltccceba3e824a96a9/6998cc54c8dcb4142db50ba9/charter-managing-uncertainty.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Brian Elliott","jobTitle":"Executive-in-residence, Charter","url":"https://time.com/author/brian-elliott/"}],"articleSection":"Charter","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltccceba3e824a96a9/6998cc54c8dcb4142db50ba9/charter-managing-uncertainty.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"charter-managing-uncertainty","caption":"Illustration of a speech bubble with question marks","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/partner-content/charter/7341019/three-things-leaders-must-do-in-2026-to-help-manage-uncertainty/","name":"Three Things Leaders Must Do in 2026 to Help Manage Uncertainty"}}]}] ```