Are you constantly feeling drained despite managing your time effectively? Shift your focus to energy management for better productivity, well-being, and burnout prevention.
Learn how to motivate your team during uncertain times, focusing on intrinsic factors beyond salary. Boost morale and engagement effectively.
Uncertainty. It’s a word we’ve become all too familiar with lately. Whether it’s shifts in the market, changes within the company, or wider global events, the feeling of not knowing what’s next can ripple through a team, causing anxiety, draining morale, and making it tough to stay focused.
Having led teams through turbulent times in the past, I’ve discovered that standard motivation tactics often fail during these challenging times.
A bonus is nice, sure, but it’s a temporary fix for a more profound issue. People need more than just compensation when they’re feeling adrift. They need an anchor, a sense of purpose, and a connection to something stable.
Motivating a team through uncertainty isn’t about slick speeches or forcing optimism. It’s about tapping into what truly drives people — their inner desires, their need to contribute, and their craving for connection.
It’s about leading with a different kind of strength, one built on understanding and trust, not just authority.
Key Takeaways
- Uncertainty impacts team morale and focus in unique ways.
- Monetary incentives alone are insufficient for sustained motivation during instability.
- Intrinsic motivators like purpose, autonomy, mastery, and connection become critical anchors.
- Transparent communication, even when you don’t have all the answers, builds trust.
- Focusing on small wins and shared learning helps teams navigate ambiguity together.
- Empowering team members fosters resilience and commitment.
Why Money Isn’t Enough When Things Get Shaky
Think about Maslow’s hierarchy, or simply how you feel when you’re worried about the future. Basic needs, like security, feel threatened during uncertainty. While a pay cheque helps with fundamental security, it doesn’t address the psychological unease.
When people are unsure about job security, company direction, or even the wider world, their stress levels go up. This stress eats away at their energy and focus. In this state, extrinsic motivators — the carrots, like bonuses or promotions — lose some of their power. People become more focused on stability and meaning.
What matters more is feeling valued, capable, connected, and understanding why their work matters, especially when the usual markers of success or stability are unclear.
The Power of Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation comes from within. It’s the drive to do something because it’s interesting, challenging, meaningful, or aligned with your values. During uncertainty, leaning into these internal drivers provides a more solid foundation for motivation.
Key intrinsic motivators include
- Purpose: Feeling like your work contributes to something important, especially when the world feels chaotic. Understanding the “why” behind what you’re doing is essential.
- Autonomy: Having some control over your work, your time, or how you approach tasks, even when the external environment is unpredictable.
- Mastery: The desire to improve, learn, and develop skills. Uncertainty can sometimes present new challenges that allow for growth and learning.
- Connection: Feeling part of a team, supported by colleagues and leaders, and knowing you’re not facing challenges alone.
So, how do you cultivate these things when everything feels up in the air?
Strategies for Leading Through the Fog
Uncertain times require a new approach to motivation. It’s less about setting rigid goals and more about building resilience, fostering connection, and providing clarity where you can.
Here are some ways I’ve seen leaders (and tried myself) keep teams engaged when the path isn’t clear:
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate (Even When It’s Hard)
When information is lacking, people fill the void with speculation and worry. You don’t need to know everything, but you should share what you do know.
- Be Transparent: Explain the situation clearly and honestly, as much as you’re able. Avoid corporate jargon.
- Acknowledge the Uncertainty: It’s okay to say, “We don’t know exactly how this event will play out.” Such an attitude builds trust far more than pretending everything is fine.
- Share the Plan (as it stands): Even if the plan is to “gather more information” or “focus on this one critical project,” please articulate it clearly.
- Listen More Than You Talk: Create safe spaces for your team to voice concerns and ask questions. At times, merely receiving acknowledgement can be immensely inspiring.
Reconnect to Purpose
When the future is hazy, reminding the team why their work matters right now is crucial.
- Focus on Mission: How does the team’s work contribute to the company’s core mission or values, especially in the current situation?
- Highlight the Impact: Show how their efforts directly affect customers, colleagues, or the wider community.
- Frame the Challenge: Can we present the uncertainty as a challenge that our team is uniquely prepared to tackle? Challenges, when framed correctly, can be motivating.
Foster Autonomy and Empowerment
When control over the external environment is low, increasing the team’s sense of control over their immediate work can be very empowering.
- Delegate Responsibility: Give team members ownership over specific tasks or areas, trusting them to figure out the best approach.
- Support Experimentation: Allow room for trying new things and learning from what happens. This approach is especially important when the old ways might not fit the new reality.
- Focus on Outcomes, Not Just Process: Clearly define the desired results, but give the team flexibility in how they achieve them.
Support Growth and Mastery
Uncertain times can paradoxically be opportunities for learning.
- Identify New Skill Needs: What skills are necessary to handle the current situation? Help the team acquire them.
- Encourage Learning from Challenges: Frame setbacks not as failures but as opportunities to learn and adapt.
- Share Knowledge: Encourage team members to teach each other and share insights gained from their work.
Strengthen Connection and Belonging
Feeling isolated during uncertainty magnifies anxiety. Building strong team bonds is a powerful motivator.
- Prioritise Team Time: Create opportunities for connection that aren’t just about work tasks. Consider arranging coffee, casual check-ins, or team-building activities, even if they are virtual.
- Encourage Mutual Support: Foster a culture where team members feel comfortable asking each other for help and offering support.
- Recognise Team Efforts: Celebrate collective achievements and acknowledge how individuals contributed to the team’s progress.
Recognising and Celebrating Effort
While pay cheques are foundational, sincere recognition of effort and contribution is a powerful non-monetary motivator, especially when outcomes are uncertain or delayed.
- Be Specific and Timely: Don’t just say “good job.” Explain what they did well and why it mattered. Do it soon, after you observe positive behaviour.
- Use Different Channels: public praise in a team meeting, a private note, or a mention to senior leaders—vary how you recognise people.
- Tie Recognition to Values: Highlight instances where team members demonstrated desired behaviours like collaboration, resilience, or innovation during the challenging period.
Perhaps you’re thinking, “This sounds like a lot of work when I’m already stressed by the uncertainty myself!” Building a resilient team that can navigate challenges alongside you requires effort.
It Starts With You
Leading through uncertainty requires you, as the leader, to tap into your resilience and authenticity. Your team will look to you for cues.
- Manage Your Energy: You can’t pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself so you can be present for your team.
- Be Authentic: It’s okay not to have all the answers. Being real about the challenges builds trust.
- Ask for Help: You don’t have to carry the burden alone. Lean on peers, mentors, or your team for support and ideas.
- Model the Behaviour: If you want your team to be adaptable and resilient, demonstrate those qualities yourself.
Motivating a team through uncertainty isn’t about maintaining a perfect façade. It’s about being human, building connections, focusing on what can be controlled, and reminding everyone that they are capable and that their work has meaning.
Wrapping Up
Navigating uncertainty with a team is a significant leadership challenge, but it’s also an opportunity to build a stronger, more connected, and more resilient group.
By focusing on intrinsic motivators—purpose, autonomy, mastery, and connection—and communicating with transparency and empathy, leaders can inspire engagement that goes far deeper than any monetary reward.
It’s about creating an environment where people feel valued, supported, and capable of facing the unknown together.
Leading Through Uncertainty: A Growthenticity Compass
The core ideas explored in this article aren’t just about managing performance; they deeply resonate with the principles of what I call ‘Growthenticity’:
“The continuous, integrated process of becoming more oneself (authentic) through leading with questions, learning through action, and growing by embracing uncertainty and imperfection, all fuelled by curiosity.”
💡 Motivating a team when the path ahead is unclear demands authentic leadership. It requires the courage to lead with genuine questions, exploring challenges with your team rather than just giving directives.
It calls for collective learning through action, embracing the messy, imperfect process of adapting together.
This shared journey through uncertainty, powered by curiosity about possibilities and challenges, isn’t just about getting results; it’s a powerful way for both leaders and team members to become more resilient, more connected, and more genuinely themselves.
👉 I encourage you to check out my paid Substack offerings at Lead, Learn, Grow to further explore concepts like ‘Growthenticity,’ gain access to practical tools, and connect with a supportive community focused on authentic and impactful growth.
Join us as we unpack these ideas and support each other on our journeys.
🌱Learn more about me and what I offer my free and paid Substack subscribers.🌱
Your Turn
What’s the biggest challenge you face motivating your team during uncertain times? What’s one strategy you plan to try this week to boost their intrinsic motivation? Share your thoughts and experiences below!
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