# Leading through change and uncertainty: cadence, honesty and small wins

Source: https://sarang.pro/leading-through-change-uncertainty/
Author: Sarang | Published: 25 October 2026

Change is hard enough when the plan is clear. It is harder when you do not have the answers yet: a restructure under discussion, a lost client, a new owner, a budget cut with details to follow. In those moments people fill silence with rumour, and the best performers start looking elsewhere.

You cannot remove the uncertainty. You can control three things: how often and how predictably you communicate, how honest you are about what you do and do not know, and whether your team can see progress. This guide covers each one and how they fit with the better-known change models.

## Why change efforts stall
McKinsey's article on [the psychology of change management](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-psychology-of-change-management) identifies four conditions people need before they change how they work:

- They understand the story behind the change and how their own work connects to it.
- Systems, rewards and processes support the new behaviour instead of the old one.
- They have the skills the new way of working requires.
- Respected colleagues and leaders model the change.
Missing any one of these slows things down. The article also cites a UK survey that rated people's own boss as the most effective channel for change messages, which puts team leaders at the centre, not senior executives alone.

John Kotter's 1995 Harvard Business Review article, ["Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail"](https://hbr.org/1995/05/leading-change-why-transformation-efforts-fail-2), draws on his observation of more than 100 companies. Its main lessons are that change passes through phases that usually take a long time, that skipping steps creates only an illusion of speed, and that a mistake in any phase can undo earlier gains. [Kotter's eight steps](https://www.kotterinc.com/methodology/8-steps/) now run from creating a sense of urgency to building new behaviours into the culture, with "generate short-term wins" as step six.

## Set a communication cadence and keep it
When information is scarce, predictability becomes the message. A fixed rhythm tells people they will not be left in the dark, even on weeks when there is little news. A practical cadence for a team going through change:

WhenWhatPurposeWeekly, same day and timeShort team update, in person or on a callWhat has changed, what has not, what we still do not knowWeekly, writtenTwo or three paragraphs in a shared channelA record people can reread and share accuratelyFortnightlyOne-to-one check-insIndividual worries, workload and questions people will not ask in a groupAs soon as possibleAd hoc update when news breaksMake sure your team hears it from you firstKeep the slot even when you have nothing new. "No update on the restructure this week, the decision is still due by the end of the month" is useful. Silence gets read as bad news.

## Be honest about what you know
A simple structure for any update during uncertainty is to separate three things:

- **What we know.** Facts that are confirmed.
- **What we do not know yet.** Open questions, stated plainly.
- **When we expect to know more.** A date or a trigger, even if it might move.
This is more credible than false reassurance. If you say "nobody will lose their job" and then people do, you lose the team's trust for the rest of the change. If you cannot share something because it is confidential, say that. "I can't discuss that yet, and I'll tell you when I can" is honest; pretending not to know is not.

McKinsey's point about the change story also applies here. Explain why the change is happening in terms people care about: customers, the team's future, the work itself. Then invite questions and pass the hard ones upwards. Information should flow up as well as down.

## Make progress visible with small wins
Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer studied knowledge workers' diaries and reported their findings in ["The Power of Small Wins"](https://hbr.org/2011/05/the-power-of-small-wins). They found that nothing did more for people's inner work life (their emotions, motivation and perceptions at work) than making progress in meaningful work. Small wins lifted it noticeably, and small setbacks could damage it significantly.

During uncertainty, the big outcome may be months away, so break the work into steps people can finish and see:

- Set goals for the next two weeks, not just the end state.
- Remove one blocker a week, and say which one.
- Point out progress in the weekly update: the first customers moved to the new system, the first process retired.
- Protect time and resources so people can finish what they start.
Kotter's own description of short-term wins makes the same point: recognise them, collect them and share them early and often.

## A worked example
An example (illustration only). Sara leads a finance team of eight. Her company announces it is moving to a shared service centre, with details on roles due in six weeks. Rumours start the same day.

Sara books a 20-minute call every Monday at 10am and a short written note every Monday afternoon. Her first note reads: "We know the move is happening and the target date is April. We do not know yet which roles will change or move. HR has said role details will be shared by 15 March. I will update you every Monday, including weeks with no news." She sets up fortnightly one-to-ones and asks each person what worries them most. She collects the questions she cannot answer and puts them to HR, then reports back which ones got answers. Meanwhile she sets a two-week goal of documenting the month-end process, which the team will need whatever happens, and thanks people by name when each section is finished.

## Common mistakes
- **Waiting until you have all the answers.** By then the rumours have set the story.
- **Over-reassuring.** Promises you cannot keep cost more trust than honest uncertainty.
- **Announcing once and moving on.** People need to hear key messages several times, in more than one format.
- **Ignoring the systems.** If targets and rewards still favour the old way, people will follow the targets.
- **Hiding setbacks.** Teams notice. Name the setback, explain the next step and move on.

## When to use this approach
This approach suits any change where the outcome affects people's jobs or daily work and the details are not fully settled, which describes most change. For a small, well-understood change, a single clear briefing and a follow-up may be enough. For a large organisational change, combine it with a formal model such as Kotter's, and make sure any consultation duties under employment law are handled by HR.