Christine Michaelis Communication in uncertainty

By Christine Michaelis, CEO & Founder, Let’s Talk

I recently facilitated two confidential executive roundtables with senior people leaders from international organisations. The topic was ‘Leading without certainty and psychological safety in times of rapid change.’

We started with leadership and trust. But very quickly, the conversation moved somewhere else: into the area of communication – specifically internal communication. Not communication as in “send the update” or as in “prepare the town hall”. Communication as the way people make sense of uncertainty.

Because one thing became very clear: employees do not only struggle when change happens. They struggle when they cannot understand what the change means, what is known, what is still unclear, and whether they can trust what they are being told.

Silence is rarely neutral

One of the strongest themes from the roundtables was that lack of clarity is often perceived as lack of transparency.

That is a real challenge for leaders and communicators, as in many situations, leaders genuinely do not have all the answers yet themselves. Employees may experience it as withholding information instead of uncertainty.

When official communication is missing, delayed, or unclear, people fill the gap themselves. They create their own narratives, talk at the coffee machine, or in informal networks. Sometimes those narratives are partly true, sometimes they are completely wrong. But once they start spreading, they can shape the emotional reality of the organisation faster than any formal message. Silence very often creates interpretation.

The announcement is only the beginning

Another recurring point was that communication cannot end with the announcement.

The real trust-building happens afterwards, in the conversations where people ask: What does this mean for me? What does this mean for my team? What are we supposed to do differently? What is still open?

This is where managers and team leaders become sensemakers. They need to be equipped not only with key messages, but with the confidence to have honest conversations. Communication professionals can play a much stronger role here by preparing leaders for the human conversation that follows.

Say what is known, unknown and stable

A very practical insight from both discussions was the importance of separating three things:

What do we know?
What do we not know yet?
What stays the same?

This sounds simple, but it changes the tone of communication.

It allows leaders to be honest without becoming vague. It allows them to acknowledge uncertainty without creating panic. It gives employees something to hold on to, even when other parts of the organisation are shifting.

That kind of communication may not remove uncertainty, but it can reduce speculation.

Psychological safety is shaped by behaviour

The roundtables also made something else clear: communication only works when leadership behaviour supports it.

If leaders talk about openness but shut down difficult questions, people notice. If they ask for feedback but never act on it, people notice. If they promote values but tolerate contradictory behaviour, people notice.

Psychological safety is created through repeated experiences.

Can people ask questions without being judged?
Can they challenge assumptions?
Can they admit mistakes?
Can they say, “I don’t understand” or “I disagree”?

These moments matter because they show whether communication is truly two-way.

From broadcasting to sensemaking

For communication professionals, I believe this is a shift we need to take seriously. In uncertain environments, our role is not only to help organisations broadcast information. It is to help leaders create meaning, context and dialogue.

That requires different questions.

What might people assume if we do not explain this?
Where will informal narratives appear?
Are managers ready for the follow-up conversations?
What do employees need to understand, not just know?

When leaders do not have all the answers, communication becomes even more important. It can help people navigate uncertainty with more trust, more clarity, and more room to speak up.