The Scent of Uncertainty

Gary Burnison is CEO of Korn Ferry and the author of Love, Hope & Leadership: A Special Edition.

They’re the two words I hear—both spoken and implied—in almost every conversation. Perpetual Uncertainty.

The environment reminds me, of all things, something I witnessed several years ago. I was driving along a highway when traffic suddenly slowed. Several cars stopped on the median, and one man stepped out of his truck. Rolling past, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing: A skunk had a plastic soda cup stuck on its head.

Dazed and confused, the skunk shook its head back and forth. It was a futile attempt to dislodge the cup, regain its focus, and find its world again. All the while, a man circled the animal cautiously, not sure of how to step in—mindful of what the skunk would send out.

While simplistic, that scene seems oddly emblematic of what is happening today—when the only thing that appears certain… is more uncertainty.

Paradoxes and opposites abound. Perform and transform. Results and resilience. Ambiguity and exactness. Accountability and compassion. Critique and create. Execute and engage. Speed and significance.

In times like these people naturally look to leaders. Our firm has conducted research, drawing from hundreds of thousands of executive assessments, to identify the most crucial mindsets and skillsets that have guided the best of leaders through uncertainty.

The one that rises above the rest, and ever present, is Meaning—it’s our why—the reason behind everything we do. It is the bridge to tomorrow.

Finding meaning is not only fundamental to life, but it’s also imperative to leadership. It starts by looking within. Not only finding our gifts, but giving our gifts. And, when meaning benefits others—what else is there?

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