It’s one of the most uncomfortable things a leader can say, “I don’t know yet.” It feels like you’re on the back foot as soon as you say it. When results disappoint, costs rise or circumstances suddenly change, the natural instinct is often to wait, gather more information, develop a response built around a plan and then communicate.
But what if waiting for certainty is actually the riskier leadership decision?
Harvard Business Review examined this question this week in the context of disappointing financial results. Its conclusion was striking: delaying bad news doesn’t necessarily soften its impact. Earlier communication can give stakeholders more time to understand what has changed and, crucially, assess whether they trust leadership’s response.
The wider environment makes this relevant far beyond investor communications. PwC’s latest CEO research found around 70% of CEOs have experienced increased costs from global shocks this year. Pricing and supply-chain decisions have become significantly harder for around a quarter. Meaning leaders are increasingly making decisions while the picture is still changing.
Lack of a clear picture requires a different approach to communication. Leadership communication has traditionally placed a premium on providing answers. But in uncertain conditions, credibility may depend just as much on being clear about what isn’t yet known.
That doesn’t mean communicating every possibility or creating unnecessary alarm. It means separating three things:
- Here’s what we know.
- Here’s what we don’t know yet.
- Here’s what we’re doing next.
That can feel less authoritative than presenting a finished answer, but in reality, it may demonstrate something more valuable: judgement.
Because when employees and stakeholders already know something is wrong, silence rarely creates reassurance. It creates a vacuum and people will fill that vacuum themselves.
The leadership challenge isn’t therefore to eliminate uncertainty before communicating, it’s communicating uncertainty without creating confusion.
When something important changes in your organisation, are you waiting until you have something definitive to say or helping people understand what is happening while you work out what comes next?
Author: Gary Berney – Head of Marketing & Membership