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The magnitude and complexities of today's pace of change mean continuous disruption to the operations and workforce of your organization. When you are in the midst of major change, one of the smartest things you can do as a leader is to consciously create the experience of stability—at least some stability. This article reviews the six key strategies for ensuring the sense of stability while your organization changes.

A fundamental condition for success in your change efforts is a solid, co-creative partnership between your sponsor and project lead. Most executives recognize the importance of sponsoring major change efforts. However, the traditional approach to change sponsorship does not create an effective partnership in most cases. Why? What's missing?

Transformational change has so many unknowns and complexities that it is impossible to plan it accurately from the beginning. A change audit assesses the current reality of your change initiative while it is underway. It can provide accurate information about whether or not your transformational change effort is set up to avoid rework and produce results quickly. It also sends a clear signal to the organization that you are serious about this change succeeding. In this article, we explore different ways to design a change audit, how executives can best engage in the process and how it can be used to ensure your transformation is on track to reach your vision.

A common assumption among leaders and managers is that their success is dependent on having the right answers at the right time and providing clear direction to their people amidst the clamor of day-to-day operations. This may have been historically true when the pace and complexity of change were moderate, but is far less so in times of large scale, high-pressured transformational change. Transformation is a very uncertain and unpredictable process that requires new leadership qualities and  approaches: (1) the outcome is unknown at the start and must be figured out as you proceed, (2) this “figuring it out” process requires constant course correction, (3) this journey is only semi-controllable and largely erratic, and (4) given the magnitude of uncertainty, people get mentally and emotionally triggered with feelings of fear, anger, and confusion. Attempting to control the process and predetermine the outcome, while an admirable desire, is just not possible in transformation. And trying to do so makes things worse! No control? No ready answers? No trust-worthy plan and timetable? What's a leader to do? In this article we will help you answer these critical questions and find comfort, strength, and success when leading through uncertainty. We will outline six key actions that you can take to stay on top of the “bucking bronco” of change and continue to provide guidance and stability. We will demonstrate how these actions provide sound leadership in times of uncertainty, as well as debunk the faulty assumption that you, as the leader, should be all-knowing.