Episode #66: Facing Uncertainty? Here’s The One Thing Your Team Needs Most From You Today

When your organization is moving fast and uncertainty spikes, your leadership presence becomes the difference between a team that breaks and one that moves forward together. In this episode of Missing Conversations, hosts Lynette Winter and Ellen Burton sit down with Amy Riley, an internationally respected leadership coach, speaker, and author who has spent over two decades helping leaders bring out the best in their teams. Amy shares insights from rooms where jobs were on the line, strategies were rewritten overnight, and leaders had to align vision and reality in real time—VPs steadying anxious sales teams, presidents leading through layoffs with honesty and care, and CEOs saying “yes” to their teams so ownership and capability could grow. Together, they explore how to name what you know and what you don’t, invite multiple perspectives into the conversation, ground tough decisions in values, and rebuild trust moment by moment so that people feel seen, stay engaged, and move with you through uncertainty.

Key Moments You’ll Want to Hear

01:49: The one simple action leaders can take to understand what their teams really need.
02:42: Why transparent, forward-focused dialogue strengthens trust and anchors teams during change.
04:14: How one VP calmed a rattled salesforce by clearly stating what’s known, what’s unknown, and how they’ll figure it out together.
07:14: How leaders can confidently say “I don’t know” without losing credibility
08:58: The practical questions leaders can use to surface alternative perspectives and expand what’s possible.
10:20: What people invent in the absence of information, and how silence drains focus, loyalty, and trust.
11:43: Leading through layoffs: How one president met people with empathy and honesty, inspiring them to come back when stability returned.
13:33: How to stay present, human, and connected in the hardest conversations.
15:15: The link between emotional intelligence and the courageous decisions leaders must make under pressure.
16:07: How one CEO protected culture, deepened ownership, and still got to a better solution by saying "Yes" to a team idea he wasn't so certain would work.
17:32: Why letting teams try, fail, and adjust grows more capability than directing them from the corner office.
18:58: The leadership pause: a quick reset that interrupts reactivity, checks assumptions, and leads to more intentional action.
21:05: Why naming your assumptions out loud opens up better strategies and clearer decision-making.
22:18: How leaders can design the conditions where teams step up, take ownership, and make strong decisions.
25:09: How values anchor tough decisions, protect standards, and guide hard conversations.
29:06: “How do we want to be together?”—the question that grounds teams through disruption.
30:16: The one thing we have control of in times of change and uncertainty: how we show up.
32:01: How presence, transparency, and follow-through rebuild trust faster than most leaders realize.
34:32: A simple trust equation leaders can use to repair relationships and strengthen commitment.

By the end of this conversation, you’ll hear answers to:

How do I communicate confidently when I don’t have all the answers?

Leaders strengthen trust by naming what they know, naming what they don’t, and engaging the room in co-creating the path forward. Amy shows that the alternative—silence, vague messaging, or overconfidence—erodes credibility fast. Leaders who openly acknowledge uncertainty while grounding people in what is clear create shared ownership and forward movement. Timestamp: 04:14–08:58

How can I keep my team focused and grounded when anxiety, change, or disruption is high?

Teams stay engaged when leaders check in, ask what people are actually experiencing, and make space for the emotions already in the room. Amy explains that in the absence of information, people invent their own stories—and those stories usually lean toward fear. Leaders who provide honest updates, name the tension, and invite open dialogue protect trust and reduce reactivity. Timestamp: 10:20–14:58

What is the one thing I can do as a leader to build trust quickly, even after layoffs, missteps, or tough calls?

Trust is rebuilt moment by moment through transparency, follow-through, and presence. Amy’s examples—from a president leading layoffs with humanity to a CEO saying “yes” so his team could learn by doing—show how trust grows when leaders listen fully, own their mistakes, invest in their people, and model the behavior they expect. Trust doesn’t require years; it’s created in how leaders show up every day. Timestamp: 11:43–17:54 and 32:01–34:32

Whatever the situation, there are opportunities to show up for others.

 

🎧 Carrying your team through uncertainty? Ground yourself in what works. Listen now.

About Amy Riley

 

Amy L. Riley is an internationally renowned speaker, author, and consultant. She has over 2

decades of experience developing leaders at all levels. Amy’s clients include Cisco Systems,

Barclays and Google Drive.

Check out her #1 international best-selling book, The Courage of a Leader: How to Inspire,

Engage and Get Extraordinary Results. www.courageofaleader.com

 

You can connect with Amy on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshoopriley/ 

 

About Altus Growth Partners

At Altus, we partner with CEOs and leadership teams who are serious about growth and willing to engage in new kinds of conversations to produce better results.

We care deeply about helping leaders and teams collaborate more effectively, navigate complexity with confidence, and foster a culture where people thrive. It’s in these environments that challenges are met with curiosity, people bring out the best in one another, and progress is anchored in shared purpose.

Because when leaders and teams are truly working together, they expand what’s possible and the meaningful impact they can make in their lives, their organizations, and the world around them.

You can find Altus Growth Partners on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/altus-growth-partners/ 

About the Book 

Growing Groups Into Teams: How do you turn a group of individuals into a highly effective, productive team? Growing Groups Into Teams is an unusually useful book written by a team of generative consultants and coaches who have helped thousands of groups become effective teams.

Through real-life stories combined with pragmatic advice, this book strengthens your ability to see what’s needed and take effective action:

• What two promises turn a group into a team.

• How to engage people to make those promises.

• How to invite responsibility and accountability.

• How to include and inspire people across differences.

• How to build and rebuild trust, and more!

Regardless of how productive your teams are today, the insights in this book will help you grow to the next level to drive your business or organization forward. Order your copy today!

Order from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Groups-into-Teams-Real-life-ebook/dp/B0CJLC23VS  

Order directly:
https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?l8SxF4Aexn9gq08iz7jFBbwutleujrftoZ2wAOFzCVH  

If you're looking to expand your leadership influence, shift your results, and develop a highly engaged, accountable team, we’d love to talk to you. Schedule a conversation with an Altus Team Member here: https://calendly.com/prollin-altusgrowth/zoom-video-30-min.

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Keywords: 

 

#Leadership, #Disruption #TrustBuilding