How can you demonstrate Leadership when you feel lost?
“ When you rise in the morning, remind yourself what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to be happy.”
— Marcus Aurelius
This spring of 2026 feels different: wars on Europe’s borders, geopolitical tensions weighing on the global economy, France’s ongoing political crisis, endless rain, and AI advancing at breakneck speed…
Companies are moving forward without clear visibility. Leaders are having to navigate unpredictable political decisions, anxious employees, and markets that shift without warning.
Even I don’t have clear goals right now, despite usually being highly goal-driven. And yet, I don’t see it as a failure.
Being a leader does not always mean moving forward with a perfectly defined vision. Sometimes, leadership also means accepting that certain periods are meant for observing, listening, consolidating, and preparing the ground ahead.
When a CEO, manager, or founder feels “uncertain,” it is uncomfortable. But it is also an opportunity to strengthen trust within teams, rethink management approaches, and create working conditions that allow people to keep moving forward.
Breaking free from the myth of clear goals
There is a persistent myth in entrepreneurship: the idea that you must always know exactly where you are going, which decisions to make, and what results to expect. But in the face of geopolitical turbulence and political uncertainty, that mindset can become a trap.
When faced with an unpredictable wave, a surfer does not fight against it. They do not know the exact path the wave will take or where it will carry them. Instead of trying to dominate it, they focus on staying balanced. They move with it and use its energy to keep progressing.
In the same way, a leader can choose to slow down, observe, and incubate ideas rather than chase rigid objectives.
Consolidating what already exists, valuing what is working, and strengthening team cohesion become powerful strategic levers. These solid foundations then make it possible to launch new projects and face future challenges with greater confidence and clarity.
I like to think that leadership lies in the ability to guide a team through the wave, remain attentive to opportunities, and transform uncertainty into creative energy.
Strengthening the collective
When everything feels uncertain, the temptation for leaders is to scatter their focus and launch new projects at all costs. Yet this period can also become an incredible opportunity to stabilize, consolidate, and enhance what is already working well.
And let’s not forget that, in times like these, your teams are just as affected as you are. More than ever, the key lies in the collective. Building a strong team dynamic and reinforcing everyone’s engagement are essential if we want to keep moving forward together.
Here are a few practical ways to turn pressure and uncertainty into collective energy:
Constructive feedback and Nonviolent Communication: create an open dialogue where everyone can express ideas and difficulties without fear of judgment.
Clarifying operating rules: secure internal processes and ensure everyone understands priorities, responsibilities, and working methods.
Spaces for creativity: create dedicated moments for experimentation and innovation, where employees can propose and test new ideas.
AI knowledge-sharing spaces: encourage the sharing of experiences, best practices, and practical use cases so teams can gradually adopt these new tools with confidence.
Valuing what already exists: revisit what is already working, reinforce good practices, and highlight past successes to strengthen confidence and buy-in.
Health and energy: invest in yourself
The collective matters, but you also need to invest in yourself. Being a leader is like being a trail runner in the mountains: you move forward through effort, sometimes through difficulty, and you need endurance over time. To stay the course, you must remain fully capable, clear-headed, and protective of your vitality.
In practical terms, these can become your priorities:
Rhythm and balance: structure your days to include strategic breaks. Even 15 minutes of conscious breathing or walking can reset your energy.
Regular exercise: choose an activity that challenges you physically while clearing your mind.
Listening to your body: fatigue, tension, stress… learn to recognize the signals before they become obstacles.
Time for perspective: use moments alone to reflect, gain distance from your projects, evolve your leadership, and anticipate strategic decisions.
This is how you regain clarity, step back, and move forward again with clearer objectives.
Invest time in your AI agents
As soon as your mental load decreases, take the time to move into the next phase of your AI usage: shifting from AI as a sparring partner to AI that can actually act on your behalf and amplify your value.
At the beginning of May, I installed a kind of ultra-secure “Nanoclaw” system that allows me to automate certain tasks and strengthen the different hats I wear: client follow-up, between-session support for my coaching clients, as well as managing my vitality and available bandwidth.
The current period reminds us that leaders cannot control everything, but they can still move their teams and businesses forward despite uncertainty. Securing what already works, clarifying projects, maintaining effective communication, and injecting energy into the organization are the keys to successful leadership.
These are the actions that allow every leader and manager to find meaning, stay mobilized, and continue progressing, innovating, and achieving collective goals.
#leadership #AI #vitality #coaching #sparringpartner
