Dialog in the Dark, a traveling exhibit, has much to teach us about leadership in difficult circumstances. This one-hour guided tour has a twist: your guide is blind and the entire experience is conducted in complete and utter darkness. Does this sound a little too like your work environment?

On the tour, anticipation of the dark unknown creates fear and anxiety in some. This angst can cause tourists to cling tightly to their canes with one hand, reaching out with the other hand until they find a wall.

Once there, they back up against the beloved wall or corner and try to get small. They listen for instruction, hoping that the tour is almost over. If not for the skillful, calm direction of the guide (the only one who actually seems comfortable and confident) peoples’ experience would be very limited.

Unless your idea of success involves cowering in a corner, business leaders may want to take a few cues from the tour guides. The following are some ideas that can help you lead more effectively when the way forward looks a bit dark. If you are not a business leader, substitute the word ‘team’ in the following tips with the relevant audience (e.g. self, colleagues, family, boss):

1. Admit it’s dark and uncomfortable and scary.

Putting on a brave face and pretending that it’s not hard or that you won’t stumble, will not win you any favors or followers. People need to hear that their fears are normal. If they see that leaders can acknowledge fear and still take action, it opens up possibilities for others. Admit there will be stumbles. Express your genuine confidence that you will all survive the experience and be better for it.

2. Describe the environment as you know it.

Share any information that you can legally share. Err on the side of over-communication. On the tour, people find it helpful to know the dimensions, purpose, contents, and layout of the room. Leaders, what are your revenues, losses, cash flow, business plans, and commitments? What does the future hold? Are lay-offs happening? When? If you don’t know, share that. For individuals, learn your options. When people don’t have facts, they invent their own.

3. Encourage people to use their strongest resources.

If business as usual isn’t working, look to your other strengths and use the resources that fit the situation. Trying to rely on a capability once it’s gone is nonsense. Yet, on the tour, sighted ones found that their useless eyes hurt from strain, when they could have just shut them and learned from the scents, sounds, and textures. Stop trying to lead with a service, skill, or product that’s no longer in demand. Successful teams and individuals recalibrate and rely on their available individual and collective strengths.

4. Encourage and permit people to explore and innovate.
Innovation–creating value for the customer–is the escape hatch out of dire business circumstances. Yet, in turbulent times, we are most likely to opt for safety instead of moving toward something unknown. Encourage people to leave their corner, get big, and join you in creating something.

5. Rely on others and practice gratitude

You are not alone and no points are awarded for martyrdom. So ask for help and accept it from others. If you have an internal “competitor” in another department, join forces, reminding yourself that you aim for the same vision, then leverage your collective strengths.

In uncertain times, there’s at least one thing you can count on: The sun will come out tomorrow. On this, we would bet our bottom dollar. May we all rise to the occasion.

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