What leaders must do when financial pressure, layoffs, and uncertainty start creeping into the workplace
I remember sitting in an executive leadership team meeting during the early months of the pandemic when our CFO said something that immediately changed the tone of the room.
“If we don’t open our outpatient surgery centers and start seeing elective surgery patients again in the next 8–12 weeks, we’re going to face layoffs.”
Then the CEO said something even harder.
He asked each member of the executive team to begin building a list of people in our org chart:
The people we must keep.
The people we would like to keep.
And the people who could potentially be laid off.
The goal, he said, was to prepare for the possibility of reducing non-clinical staff by 50 percent.
In that moment, the room went quiet.
Most of my team consisted of clinical support staff—interpreters, chaplains, and others who supported patient care every day but didn’t provide direct clinical care.
They were essential to the patient experience but deemed expendable.
But suddenly I was staring at an impossible leadership reality.
I didn’t know whether we were preparing for temporary layoffs… or a permanent future state.
All I knew was that the organization was facing massive financial headwinds.
And when that kind of uncertainty enters an organization, leadership suddenly feels very different.
When Uncertainty Moves Inside the Organization
Moments like that are among the hardest leadership challenges anyone can face.
Because uncertainty inside an organization quickly becomes personal.
People begin asking questions they may never say out loud:
- Is my job safe?
- Will my team still exist in a few months?
- Does leadership actually know where this is going?
During the pandemic, healthcare organizations across the country faced those questions.
And today, many industries—including healthcare and insurance—are facing similar pressure again.
Budgets are tightening.
Personnel strategies are shifting.
Layoffs may be coming.
And even if your team doesn’t know exactly what’s happening yet, they can feel the uncertainty.
And when uncertainty spreads, it can affect how people show up, how they perform, and how much they trust leadership.
The Leadership Mistake That Makes Things Worse
When organizations face financial pressure, many leaders instinctively become quiet.
They wait for more clarity.
They delay conversations.
They assume silence will prevent panic.
But silence rarely creates stability.
It creates speculation.
And the stories employees tell themselves are almost always worse than reality.
Here’s the truth:
People can handle difficult news.
What they struggle with is uncertainty without leadership.
What Your Team Needs From You Now
During uncertain moments, your team isn’t expecting you to have every answer.
But they are watching how you lead.
They need to know that leadership sees what’s happening.
They need honesty about what leaders know—and what they don’t know yet.
And they need to hear that something inside the organization is still steady: the mission, the purpose, and the work that still matters.
Clarity doesn’t eliminate uncertainty.
But it builds trust.
And trust is the currency leaders spend when organizations are under pressure.
Leadership Is Revealed in Moments Like This
Anyone can lead when everything is predictable.
But when the organization starts shaking, leadership becomes visible.
Your team watches how you communicate.
They notice whether you avoid difficult conversations.
They pay attention to whether you bring calm or confusion into the room.
Uncertainty doesn’t destroy trust.
Poor communication during uncertainty does.
Take Action: Crisis Communication Checklist
One of the fastest ways leaders lose trust during uncertain moments is by saying the wrong thing—or saying nothing at all.
If you want a simple framework for communicating during uncertain moments, download my Crisis Communication Checklist: The 10 Crisis Commandments for Leaders.
It will help you avoid common communication mistakes and lead with clarity when pressure is high.
Download it here: [Download the Crisis Communication Checklist] Because when organizations face uncertainty, leadership clarity matters more than ever.