Leading ourselves and others through uncertainty is the most important but under-developed leadership skill for the next century. The importance of this leadership quality struck me recently when I passed a statue of Joan of Arc. I realized that there are almost certainly more statues of Joan of Arc than any other person who lived in France even though she was an uneducated, peasant living in the 1400s. Why?
To set the stage, when Joan of Arc enters the picture, it is near the end of almost a hundred years of war, during which the English have beaten the French back to a last bastion—Orleans. The city is a last defense for a tiny kingdom without a king, because for the prince to become king would require a coronation at Reims, also in hostile territory.
Imagine being one of the defenders on the walls. Things have gone so much differently than you imagined. To your dismay, your reinforcements were beaten within view of the city walls. You are exhausted and encircled. If you lose this battle, the rest of France will likely fall. But how can you win if you have already lost so much? The city leaders are ready to surrender. But then you hear news of Joan of Arc, a young girl in armor. How could she change a hopeless situation?
Shockingly, when Joan of Arc arrives at Orleans, she doesn’t bring a new technology like the longbow, nor a great army—she enters the city with only 200 soldiers. Rather what she brings is a vision of what France can be in their very moment of greatest uncertainty. It is this vision—of what can be—that rallies not just the troops, but the citizens, who flock to her side, and although wounded twice in the precarious battles that follow, still her vision rallies her side to defeat the English at Orleans and then to restore France.
As someone who researches uncertainty, I find similar stories in all great leaders. Before the darkest hours of World War II, few would have predicted Winston Churchill would be a great leader. Churchill, written off by his own father as a “wastrel,” nearly failed out of military academy, nearly went bankrupt, and was exiled from politics for a decade. But it was his firm belief that the allies could be victorious, despite all odds, that rallied the people. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, King Haakon of Norway, and Charles de Gaulle of France all exhibited similar vision as they led their occupied countries through great uncertainty when victory seemed impossible.
For many decades we have lived in a relatively stable environment, but as uncertainty increases, the ability to lead others through unknown is becoming the most important leadership capability for the modern era. As the former CEO of Ben and Jerry’s stated, “The world now is paradox! There is ambiguity and paradox everywhere …For people who like the linear route forward, life is getting harder and harder, in any field!”
The key task then is to lead ourselves, and those around us, through the uncertainty to the possibility hidden on the other side. Fortunately, there are many tools to do this. The oldest tool of all might be that employed by Joan of Arc, and that is the story of what is possible. It sounds simple, but neuroscience confirms that stories cause our brains to sync and couple. Indeed, story may be our oldest technology—the ability to piece together events and imagine a future that could be. We can use such stories of what is possible, despite what the situation, to rally ourselves and those around us. Likewise, we can use uncertainty balancers, or routines, rituals, and relationship to proactively create islands of certainty to balance out the anxiety of the unknown.
Now is the moment to revisit our stories, explicit and implicit, and ask, “Are these the stories we want to live by? Are these the stories that will rally ourselves and others to the right action?” This isn’t about ignoring the facts, or toxic positivity, but rather recognizing that whatever hand of cards we have been dealt, what now? What story do we want to try to live into being?
Those around Charles de Gaulle, reportedly, thought him a fool. France could never be retaken they said. The same was true of Joan of Arc. And yet France stands today, free and vibrant and beautiful.
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