Leaders: Be a Dealer in Hope. What employees need most in the “New Ab-normal.”

Posted Mar 19, 2025 by Rick

I’m calling today’s tumultuous work environment the “New Ab-normal” because – by almost any account, there is nothing “normal” about the levels of change and uncertainty we’re living and working through today. Leaders, consider this your call to action – and it can’t wait for things to become “normal” again. They won’t.

Even before recent, sweeping changes coming from Washington, workers were reporting concerning levels of workplace stress, with 77% reporting work-related stress in the last month and a full 57% reporting forms of workplace burn-out symptoms such as:

• emotional exhaustion (31%)
• a desire to keep to themselves (25%)
• a desire to quit (23%)
• lower productivity (20%)
• irritability or anger with coworkers and customers (19%

Most would agree, statistics like these are not sustainable. Overwhelmed workers are not likely to be engaged, innovative, productive, or satisfied. So, how do leaders manage themselves and their workforce through this “New Ab-normal?”

Leaders should start with an understanding of how humans process change and uncertainty. Neuroscience can help, and I’ll explore that in more detail in future editions, but for now, suffice it to say that our brains are “wired” to perceive and protect us from threats in our environment. Our so-called “primitive brain” (centered in that part of our brains called the Amygdala) was designed, originally, to protect us from threats like saber tooth tigers and other predators. The Amygdala scans the environment for potential threats, and triggers emotional reactions – either fight, flight, or freeze – as an act of self-preservation. Chronic, disruptive change and uncertainty can cause our Amygdala to become hyper stimulated, resulting in chronic emotional responses to threatening conditions that over-comes our intellect, leaves us chronically stressed, and unable to think clearly --- a condition we call the “Amygdala Hijack.”

When leaders see folks withdraw or disengage, or when we witness outward resistance in the workplace, leaders should realize these behaviors are responses to real (or perceived) threats to workforce well-being. And today – more than ever - leaders need to dig deep to find responses to help folks overcome their emotional hijack and be able to find some opportunity (let’s call that hope) in the midst of the chaos.

Today’s leader must realize that their most important role is not in managing time and talent to budgets or project plans, but rather, their role as “culture curator.” Today’s leader must be able to shape a workplace culture (an environment) where folks can feel safe, supported, engaged, and inspired – where they can find PURPOSE feel HOPEFUL. As Napoleon was credited with saying, “A leader is a dealer in hope!”

Leaders deal in hope by focusing folks away from the “noise” and toward a future vision – an aspirational, purposeful future that they can connect with and believe in on both an intellectual and emotional level. We’ve included several articles we’ve been reading to help leaders prepare for this critical role in our recent newsletter – start your journey there!

We at Adaptive Human Capital have been focused on the research of the traits of resilient individuals and organizational culture and have prepared a series of interventions to help businesses carve a path forward through uncertainty and change – a roadmap for this “New Ab-normal.”  We believe they are tailored for these times and can help keep your workforce focused and engaged – even while external distractions try to interfere.

The pace of change is never going to be this slow again. Working together, we can find new normalcy even during disruptively “ab-normal” times.