Many of our employees today are feeling off-center. And who can blame them given the ever-fluctuating positions on US tariffs – in manufacturing, energy, and agriculture – and the ongoing threats to Canadian sovereignty – whether these are real or simply bluster. A March poll by Leger, the largest Canadian-owned market research and analytics company says 40% of Canadians are worried about their job security. In Ontario alone 500,000 jobs may be at risk. And pity the many job seekers who are losing hope of landing full-time work as companies threaten to scale back. Add to that — growing consumer dread of higher prices due to inflationary pressures.

As managers, how can support and encourage employees in times of turbulence?

Over three decades of leading and consulting I have learned four key lessons.

First, acknowledge the emotions around change. Acknowledge the resistance to the change in particular! Some Canadians are angry. Indignant. Others are skeptical. And increasingly cynical. All perspectives are valid. As a leader I have come to recognize that the perceptions of employees, become my reality. To ignore their voices, is to suppress or deny their perspectives. I have learned the hard way that a suppressed voice goes underground and can come back to bite me when I least expect it.

Second, change is personal. Whether a company is contemplating cuts, restructuring, reorganizing work – even relocating a staff member’s desk – change will be received as personal. That dictates a communication style that allows for as much transparency as possible in outlining the reasons for the change.

As an example, I was managing an organization that had been embroiled in three years of negotiations over a potential merger and acquisition. The discussions were frustratingly protracted with ups and downs and unexpected pivots. Then negotiations broke off. How to break the news to a team that had experienced uncertainty for so long? I decided to share the unvarnished truth and waited for a reaction. A team lead spoke up. She thanked me for ending the uncertainty. Bad news was better than no news at all.

However, I also gave those staff hope and that leads to the third lesson: hope is important. I could not leave that team feeling bleak about our future. So, behind the scenes I had proactively begun to seek other options and opportunities. I shared whatever progress I could provide.

Finally, a leader can never over-communicate. In uncertain times it means increasing the frequency and number of messages, and occasionally, changing the style and methods of communication. Frequent newsletters are one vehicle but it is also important to bring people together and communicate face to face. And just to be clear, this isn’t the same as over-sharing. I still cringe thinking about a former vice president who used to send out a weekly newsletter that included updates about his dog.

To recap — turbulent times call upon a leader to acknowledge the change, to acknowledge change can feel personal, to communicate often and with as much transparency as possible respecting confidentiality. Finally, articulate there is hope and a path forward.

These days Canadians need hope. Hope helps build our resilience, our ability to be flexible and bounce back. Hope fosters team cohesion. It builds trust in the ability of a leader to navigate the team to a better future. Hope sustains morale and confidence. And it is only with confidence that teams can innovate, take risk, grow and act!

Just as Canadians are looking to their political leaders to advocate in their best interests, they are looking to our corporate and not for profit leaders to give them hope for the future. Can we step up?

Judy Fantham is a principal with The Osborne Group and began her career as a journalist. She is an experienced NFP leader and works on strategic planning, turnarounds and as an interim executive.