Leading Through Chaos: When Trust and Humanity Matter Most
Jan Turner works at the intersection of leadership, resilience, and conscious transformation. As an executive coach, former C-suite leader, and 2x burnout survivor, she brings the human back to organizations and guides leaders home to themselves.
Years ago, I was on a senior leadership team during a time of significant upheaval. In a matter of months, our business was hit by a wave of challenges that wiped out nearly a third of our gross margin. Under the direction of our CEO, we united as a single team and made tough calls, including restructuring products, slashing budgets, and laying off staff. We then communicated these decisions to employees, partners, and customers with transparency, care, and compassion. The rest of the industry largely followed our lead.
What really took me by surprise was what happened next. During that same challenging period, the employee engagement score for the department that I led actually jumped by 20 percentage points from the prior year. When we discussed these results as a team, colleagues shared that, amidst the difficult business conditions, they always felt informed about where leadership stood. They trusted the management team to make the right choices, and they could see that we were genuinely striving to do our best, even in such tough circumstances.
Around this time, one of my team’s top performers said to me in my office, “Hey, can I share something with you? You look like shit. The whole management team looks like shit. I want you to know we see what you are doing, how hard you all are working. We know you’re doing the best you can.”
While we stayed human throughout this whole process, the work took a toll on us.
Many leaders eventually encounter moments when uncertainty mounts and the pressure seems unending. It could be due to market fluctuations, a faltering strategic initiative, organizational changes, a public relations crisis, or too many demands piling up as resources reach a breaking point. Initially, leaders often react by putting in longer hours, getting more involved in the details, and pushing harder to keep everything on track. But over time, those same approaches can start to lose their punch.
Pressure changes how we lead
Leading through chaos has a way of narrowing our focus. When stakes are high, many leaders instinctively tighten their grip. Attention shifts to what feels most urgent. Reflection gets postponed, positivity starts to feel like an unaffordable luxury, and connection with others can unintentionally slip away.
Research suggests this instinctive response comes at a cost. Deloitte has found that organizations led by people who demonstrate transparency and humanity during challenging periods are three times more likely to have highly engaged employees.[1]
Yet under pressure, leaders often feel they must project certainty at all times. Many carry the belief that being strong means being unshakeable. This can create distance at precisely the moment teams need clarity and a strong foundation of trust the most.
Why transparency and care matter more than ever
Periods of disruption are not just a test of strategy, they are also a test of relationships. According to McKinsey research, leaders who communicate with empathy, flexibility, and clarity tend to maintain better performance during tough times and disruptions.[2]
This does not mean such leaders have all the answers, but rather that they are honest about what they know, what remains uncertain, and how decisions are made. When people understand the context and believe those delivering the messages, they are more likely to stay engaged, especially when helping to drive high-stakes outcomes.
What to pay attention to as a leader
Navigating through chaos means tuning into both the world around us and our inner selves. Here are some key signals to watch for in yourself:
Feeling constantly drained or exhausted
Pulling back from challenging discussions or decision-making
Leaning too heavily on control instead of fostering collaboration
Projecting confidence while shying away from difficult truths
These internal signals influence how leaders present themselves, whether they realize it or not. Overlooking them can gradually undermine trust and erode hard-earned respect.
According to Gallup research, employees who believe their leaders provide a clear direction and strategy are over four times more likely to stay engaged during challenging times.[3]
Ignoring the signs can also compromise one’s overall well-being in ways that can have immediate, long-term, and sometimes catastrophic health effects.
Leading with resilience rather than rigidity
Resilience in leadership is often misinterpreted. It is not about being inflexible or pushing through challenges at any cost. Instead, it is about being adaptable, having self-awareness, and possessing the ability to bounce back with humility and clarity.
Teams do not expect their leaders to be perfect. What they seek is steadiness, honesty, and a sense that their leaders are grounded, even when the way forward seems uncertain.
Most people learn to accept tough times as a part of life. In business, such experiences are often avoided and even feared by those at the helm. The real question is not how to dodge significant challenges, but how to navigate through them with mindfulness and care. This is even more true as AI and other revolutionary capabilities and developments present an unending stream of new uncertainties, opportunities, and risks.
Conclusion
Leading through chaos is not about ignoring or brute-force pushing through the challenges that come our way. It is about how we show up when the charge has faltered and we are pushed back into the trenches. It is about how we regroup, as individuals and together. Leadership forged in the fog and fire is the type that embodies both discipline and humanity. Now more than ever, the world needs leaders who understand and are ready to live these dynamics.
When everything feels up in the air, what keeps you grounded? How could sharing that sense of stability, along with ongoing transparency and genuine support, empower your team to do their best work without sacrificing their well-being?
Read more from Jan Turner
Jan Turner, Executive Coach and Strategic Advisor
Jan Turner is an executive coach, strategic advisor, and former C-suite leader with over 25 years of experience in global financial services. Having led teams across 11 different functions and survived burnout twice, she guides leaders and teams through significant transitions, helping them build trust, grow in confidence, and move beyond self-defeating habits. Jan’s approach combines whole-person development, mindfulness, business acumen, and practical leadership techniques that deepen presence, resilience, and overall impact. She helps organizations and teams to navigate complexity and drive results by fostering personal growth and transformative leadership. Her mission: bring the human back to organizations and leaders, home to themselves.
References:
[1] Deloitte, 2024 - The transparency paradox: Could less be more when it comes to trust?
[2] McKinsey & Company, 2020 - How to demonstrate calm and optimism in a crisis
[3] Gallup, 2022 - How to Build Trust in the Workplace
