For Leaders Navigating Uncertain Ground
None of us stepped into leadership because it was easy or safe.
We stepped into this work because we believe, perhaps quietly, perhaps fiercely, that institutions can be forces for good. That education, philanthropy, and nonprofit work are ways of advancing missions that matter to us, and of shaping the world we share. We believe that justice matters. That people matter.
Those reasons have not changed. What has changed is the ground beneath our feet.
We are living in a time of uncertainty, in a country that, in many ways, feels unfamiliar. Norms that once felt stable now feel contested. Assumptions we relied on feel less certain. For many leaders, there is a sense of disorientation, of trying to lead responsibly while the larger context shifts around us.
In moments like this, it can be tempting to retreat, narrow our focus, tell ourselves that our role is simply to manage what is in front of us, and not to engage with what feels overwhelming or beyond our reach.
But retreat has never been why we chose this work.
If you are a head of school, a university president, a nonprofit executive, a chief advancement officer, a foundation leader, or a trustee, you hold more power than you may realize. Not power in the loud or coercive sense, but the kind that shapes culture: the ability to name values, to set tone, and to influence what is normalized and what is not.
Culture moves before policy. It always has.
Long before laws change, people decide what they will tolerate, what they will defend, and what they will refuse to accept as inevitable. Institutions, especially those rooted in mission, learning, and service, play an outsized role in that process.
Leadership in uncertain times is not about having all the answers. It’s about remembering who we are, why we’re here, and what we are responsible for holding steady.
This moment is not an exception to that calling. It is an expression of it.
So what does leadership look like now?
Not grandstanding, or perfection, or even unanimity. It must exist through presence, unwavering hope, clarity of values, and above all, the courageous choice not to look away.
Here are a few ways leaders can act, starting where we are:
Reaffirm the values that brought you here.
Justice, dignity, belonging, and care are a few of mine. Naming these values publicly and privately reminds people, and ourselves, what our work is in service of.
Use your voice in the spaces you lead.
Boardrooms, classrooms, donor conversations, internal communications, and community gatherings all shape culture. Speaking with calm moral clarity steadies others.
Ask questions that keep institutions honest.
What are we normalizing without meaning to? Whose experiences are being centered or ignored? What kind of world are our choices helping to build?
Align resources with purpose.
Budgets, partnerships, hiring, and funding decisions are expressions of values. Small, consistent alignment matters more than sweeping declarations.
Lead in community, not isolation.
No one is meant to navigate this alone. Conversation, collaboration, and shared courage make leadership sustainable.
None of this requires abandoning nuance or complexity. All of it requires remembering that leadership is relational and moral.
If the world feels uncertain right now, that does not mean our purpose is unclear. We are here because we believe institutions can make life more just, more humane, and more hopeful. And that belief is not naive. It’s foundational.
This moment asks us not to retreat, and not to despair, but to stand right where we are, use the influence we hold, and move forward together.
Culture moves before policy. And together, through our work, we can, and we will, shape the world we share.
Consider reaching out to someone who reminds you why this work matters. We do this best together.
