By many measures, 2025 stands out as especially turbulent. The speed of change often gives little time to recognize rising anxiety and the toll of constant change before we see its consequences. When we see visible signs of overload, rising turnover, and underperforming teams we’re acting too late. The question for many organizations is, how can leadership remain steadfast when the path ahead is unclear?
This is where authentic leadership becomes not just beneficial, but essential. It's not about projecting an image of perfection or having every answer; rather, it’s about leading consistently through our values. Unwavering integrity comes down to clearly communicating a direction, delivering the support and resources to reach it, and making decisions that are deeply rooted in our core values, even when it’s uncomfortable. Lets get into how we can make this happen even when it doesn't seem possible.
This may not need explanation, but this year has brought us unpredictable markets, the pressure to do more with fewer resources, and heightened demands on leaders to innovate and keep pace with change across many fronts.
At the same time, the workforce is experiencing low optimism about the future of the U.S. labor market. Nearly half of employees report that the economy has negatively impacted their mental health, calling both personal well-being and their job security into question. When stress hits us from many fronts: inflation and rising costs, job insecurity, new job demands, it creates a distracting and chronically dizzying environment that damages our focus, performance, and commitment. Indeed, the majority of the workforce is either open, or ready to consider, leaving their current organization for a new opportunity.
Uncertainty creates doubt and stress for employees at every level. This is clear when we work with organizations struggling with new challenges. With sudden setbacks and unpredictability, we tend to turn our focus inward and towards ourselves. We're less likely to think through the experience of those around us.
During periods of uncertainty—like restructuring, hiring pauses, or team fatigue from change and stress—what teams need most is open communication. In fact, about half of employees struggle from a lack of communication during tough times. Shared understanding around a shared vision, honesty regarding what it will take to achieve it, and genuine recognition of the human side of these challenges is what can provide a solid path forward. Supporting well-being is a broad endeavor, but these steps give us a clear and actionable path forward together.
We can see the power of transparent communication in stories exploring leadership in healthcare during COVID-19. The Cleveland Clinic led a retrospective study where leaders shared success stories and setbacks during that period. Openly acknowledging uncertainty, providing a clear vision, and speaking to the unique stress and hardship faced in reaching it emerged as a key pathway in fostering trust through honest and consistent communication.
At its heart, authentic leadership is defined by a steadfast commitment to core values and the integrity with which those values are lived out. Behaviorally speaking, when we're leading authentically we act and communicate transparently in ways that embody our values. Our teams embrace our direction as feel heard and know where we're headed together. In short, authentic leaders build connections and strong relationships based on trust and respect.
Authentic leaders know their why. Their sense of purpose connects with both their own values and that of their organization. A strong and healthy culture magnifies the ability of an authentic leader to accomplish great things by fluidly connecting the motivations and goals of employees to reach a shared destination.
With our values and north star clear before us, the next step is to communicate those and our decisions with clarity. This makes transparency, as we talked about with the Cleveland Clinic, a cornerstone of authenticity. Leaders who openly share their thought processes, readily admit mistakes, and actively seek feedback build trust by demonstrating authenticity. This fosters an environment where team members feel genuinely valued and heard. Openness signals to employees that their contributions and voices matter, thereby earning the profound trust that is vital for effective collaboration.
Transparency, and our clear values, delivers psychological safety, the bedrock of trust. This makes it possible for us to innovate, adapt, and to the hard things in challenging times.
What patterns do we tend to fall into when leading through a crisis or time of urgency? Knowing the mindsets and behaviors we rely on can help us recognize what works. The Community Health Centres of Ontario, similar to the Cleveland Clinic, used the pandemic as an opportunity to understand what strategies drive effective leadership through times of uncertainty.
During a crisis like COVID-19, a leadership style that prioritizes tasks, clear communication, and simply getting things done might be preferred. We might overlook, intentionally or not, seeking to understand the thoughts, feedback, and experience of others. However, Community Health Centres (which specializes in primary care), found that an intense dual focus on tasks and people drove both performance and team commitment to change.
So, what is trust? We can feel when it's present, and when it isn't, but we don't often think about what it means. It's when we we accept vulnerability because we expect good things from the behavior of others. In practice, this means I can take appropriate risks, act in ways I believe best support our team and the business, and feel comfortable being my true self.
This trust gives us a buffer in times of challenge and uncertainty. Trust gives us stability and shared expectations we can count on In times of economic uncertainty, building trust is paramount for team success.
When we execute an employee experience, or engagement, survey for the first time we find that 88% of executives and senior leaders feel they can trust their teams, but only 61% of those employees feel the same trust. Through periods of change and challenge, trust becomes even more important as we adapt to new realities, seek to creatively maneuver new obstacles. The disciplines and practices of authentic leadership support trust by both giving leaders clear and consistent feedback, and ensuring teams receive the consistent and transparent communication they need for psychological safety.
Authentic leaders build trust by demonstrating reliability, consistently keeping their promises, and showing genuine care for their team’s well-being. This consistent demonstration of values in action forms the bedrock of a resilient team, enabling them to confront challenges directly and emerge stronger.
Greater trust and connection also promotes a growth mindset, transforming challenges into learning opportunities and rewarding innovative approaches. This aligns with research which sought to identify the characteristics of the "fittest" organizations that thrive long-term. To survive, organizations must embrace a change mindset – accepting that things will never stay the same and welcoming novel ideas. Authentic leaders inspire employees to view change as a constant, to embrace evolution, and to understand that becoming too comfortable impedes growth. They also instill confidence in the broader organization by transparently communicating changes and the reasons for it. When employees believe their own team can succeed in changes, adaptation and agility are more likely to occur, leading to long-term agility and flourishing.
We know clear, consistent communication is a hallmark of authentic leadership and a powerful tool for navigating adversity, building a change mindset, and growth. Let's talk logistics. Even when complete answers aren't available, providing quick updates or acknowledgments builds more trust than silence. How do we make this happen?
HR leaders and hiring teams play a crucial role in shaping organizational culture and resilience. Let's talk through concrete ways talent management can support both leaders and their mission to lead with authenticity as well as employee safety and trust directly.
A culture and environment that consistently demonstrates genuine concern for employees' well-being and flexibility when possible, creates a ripe environment for authentic leadership to thrive.
Authentic leadership recognizes that continuous learning and development are key to equipping employees with the skills needed to adapt to evolving business needs. This also addresses the statistic that high-potential employees are 3.7 times more likely to quit if they lack regular growth opportunities.
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
More than any policy, a strong and healthy culture supports employees during uncertain times - and nurtures authentic leaders. The relationship between leadership, authenticity, and culture works both ways. Leaders with the tools and motivation to lead transparently and with empathy are likely to strengthen how values and mission live within the organization. This is critical because of the tight link between culture and engagement. How to make that happen?
Authentic leaders, by building infrastructure that facilitates multi-unit teamwork and collaboration, ensure that change can happen across the entire organization, not just in isolated departments. They also ensure that great ideas are effectively executed, avoiding inertia and making sure appropriate methods and procedures are in place to see changes through. Finally, authentic leaders understand the importance of reinforcement through training, rewards, and visible top-level leadership support, helping employees overcome natural resistance to change and build an agile organization.
The benefits of authentic leadership extend far beyond immediate crisis management. By consistently strengthening a culture built on trust, integrity, transparency, and resilience, authentic leaders drive long-term success and (proven) organizational sustainability. Employees who feel valued, supported, and confident in their leadership are significantly more likely to be engaged and committed to organizational goals. This deep engagement translates into higher productivity, reduced employee turnover, and superior overall performance.
In essence, authenticity is not merely a leadership style; it is a commitment to being the kind of leader people can genuinely trust, especially when faced with the daunting challenges of uncertainty. This commitment demands courage, consistency, and ongoing practice. However, the returns are immense: it provides teams with a steadfast anchor, something they can truly count on when everything else seems unpredictable. This unwavering reliability is, at its core, what true leadership is all about. By embracing authentic leadership, we can not only navigate the storms of economic uncertainty but also build a resilient, engaged, and thriving workforce prepared for any future.