Last month, we explored "Leading Through Uncertainty" and the power of radical acceptance during times of significant change. Your insights were profound—from the importance of transparent communication to maintaining mission focus while acknowledging reality.

As we move forward, we face an essential question that builds on our previous conversation: How do we make conscious leadership choices rather than defaulting to reactive patterns during times of upheaval?

In our exploration of transformational leadership, we've discovered that the most impactful leaders consistently make a fundamental choice: Will I allow my fears to rule me, or will I base my behavior on my higher purpose?

This choice becomes even more critical during periods of radical change. When fear permeates our organizations, leaders face moment-by-moment decisions that either fuel anxiety or create stability through purpose-driven action.

The Transformational Choice in Action

Consider what we heard last month:

"I understand why you might be worried... I'm here to reassure you that I will keep you apprised of the situation as things change. But at this point, it's business as usual."

This leader made a conscious choice to acknowledge concerns while refocusing on purpose rather than speculation. They chose purpose over fear—the essence of the transformational choice.

Another insight emerged: "Covid was a good leadership tutorial on how to lead through crisis... We can't have parking lot conversations all day long about our opinions on what's happening."

Yet there's a crucial difference in our current situation. Whereas COVID created an immediate crisis requiring swift, reactive changes driven by clear mandates, today's challenges are more ambiguous. None of us know exactly what changes will affect our funding streams, but we recognize the potential for major shifts within the next year.

It's tempting to ignore these threats and maintain business as usual—but this approach risks avoiding the issue entirely, pretending it will resolve itself. True transformational leadership requires a proactive stance: engaging in scenario planning, reconsidering our funding models, and making conscious choices about our organizational future rather than simply reacting when forced to.

This Month's Discussion Questions

For our March session, we'll explore how to move from reactive to proactive leadership during ambiguous change:

1. When you look forward to the future and envision worst-case scenarios, what specific steps might you take now to begin preparing? What's the smallest action you could implement tomorrow?

2. Where in your organization are you seeing signs of "productive discomfort" versus "paralyzing fear"? How are you actively cultivating the former while minimizing the latter?

3. What assumptions about your funding model have you never seriously questioned? Which of these assumptions might be most vulnerable in the current climate?

4. How would you lead differently if you knew with certainty that 30% of your current funding would disappear within 18 months? What's stopping you from taking those actions now?

5. In what ways might your personal default success strategy be limiting your organization's ability to adapt to potential changes? Where are you choosing comfort over purpose?  

6. What conversations about the future are happening in hallways and parking lots but not in your board room or leadership meetings? How might bringing these conversations into the open transform your approach?

We look forward to continuing this the conversation and learning from your experiences as we navigate these transformational choices together.