I’ve spent my career studying what drives high-performing teams, and in recent years, much of my work has centered on helping organisations lead through uncertainty.

I deliver about 150 keynotes a year to Fortune 500 companies, but before all that, my background was in academia at one of Ireland’s leading business schools. During that time, I developed a passion for the psychology of teams that achieved extraordinary results. What I’ve learned is this: you don’t lead through change by pretending to have all the answers. You lead by leaning into human behaviour by understanding how people think, feel and work when the path ahead is unclear.

One of the most important things I’ve learned is the power of authentic co-authorship. When people feel like change is being driven by someone else somewhere else, it’s easy for them to sit back as passengers, hoping the executive team will steer things in the right direction. But when you meaningfully involve your team in shaping the journey, it lights a bonfire under them. It’s like setting fire to their soul. Suddenly, they’re not just doing work, they’re contributing to the very narrative of the organisation.

Leaders often think we need to know the next three, five or ten steps. But let’s be honest, most of the time, we don’t. And our teams know that. That’s why I believe vulnerability in leadership is a superpower. When we say, .

we create a guiding coalition. That transparency builds a kind of connective tissue you can feel and sense across the organisation.

There’s science behind this. It’s called the Pratfall Effect. Years ago, researchers found that when someone spilled coffee on themselves before taking a quiz, and still performed well, they were rated more likeable, trustworthy and competent than someone who didn’t spill. Why? Because vulnerability makes us human. It allows people to connect with us.

As leaders, we don’t need to predict the future; we need to provide clarity, even if we can’t provide certainty. I often say: be the lighthouse, not the weatherman. Our job is to help people orient themselves, not overwhelm them. Too many Zoom calls, newsletters, and status updates create noise. But too little communication leaves people isolated. The goal is to deliver the right information at the right time, enough to support autonomy, not stifle it.

You don’t have to be the pilot who guarantees a smooth flight. But you do need to be the one who says, “We may hit turbulence, but we’re trained, prepared and in this together.” That’s what leadership in uncertainty looks like. It’s psychological. It’s human. And it’s what separates teams that survive from those that thrive.

For more research around how psychology can power high-performing teams through uncertainty, head over to the full article on Forbes.com.