“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”

Leading Through Uncertainty: The Power of Relaxed Intensity

Times are tough for UK PLC right now, and many business leaders find themselves on the front lines of a relentless battle against economic pressure, negativity, and stress. As a professional Interim who specialises in stressed and distressed businesses, I thought I’d share some insights on how I cope and, more importantly, how leaders can maintain their effectiveness under intense strain.

As business leaders, we are constantly buffeted by external forces, market shifts, financial pressures, regulatory changes, and social uncertainties, that inevitably impact performance. Maintaining a positive mindset isn’t just a personal luxury; it’s a fundamental necessity for business success. And yet, despite the all-time high in mental health challenges, social media is flooded with advice from influencers about how an ice bath or a change in perspective will solve everything. They may not be entirely wrong, different things work for different people, but as Mike Tyson famously put it: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

Now, to be fair, the ice bath might help with the swelling after the punch, but it won’t teach you how to respond, adjust your stance, or recover from the blow. That’s where you come in, knowing how to manage the impact of setbacks and respond effectively under pressure.

Having experienced both combat situations and leading businesses through distress, I think that statement perfectly encapsulates what it feels like to be in the midst of a crisis. The real test isn’t what we plan to do—it’s how we conductourselves when reality hits.

The Leader’s Conduct: The Power of Presence

One of the most critical aspects of leadership in tough times is how we present ourselves to our teams. No one wants to follow a captain who panics at the first sight of trouble, runs around in a frenzy, or, even worse, abandons ship when the waters get rough. Stability, confidence, and clarity from the top set the tone for the entire organisation.

An old boss once told me that I led teams with “Relaxed Intensity.” I spent a lot of time thinking about what that meant. Over time, I realised it was the combination of three leadership principles that have guided me throughout my career:

Embrace VUCA: Living with Uncertainty

The world is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous – VUCA, as the military defines it. Accepting this reality is the first step to overcoming it. There is no perfect roadmap, but there are ways to navigate through it effectively. The best leaders don’t get paralysed by change; they expect it, prepare for it, and stay adaptable.

During the 2008 financial crisis, I led one of the first CVAs of a public company in 2009. Businesses were collapsing under the weight of economic downturns, and traditional restructuring methods were failing. Steering the company through this period required not just financial restructuring but also a shift in mindset, embracing uncertainty, making hard decisions, and ensuring the team remained focused amid chaos. The ability to embrace VUCA and adapt to unprecedented challenges was the difference between survival and failure.

Though it was one of the toughest experiences of my career, it ultimately set the stage for my transition into professional interim leadership. Navigating that crisis gave me invaluable experience in managing high-stakes turnarounds, resilience under pressure, and the ability to lead teams through extreme adversity. That defining moment opened up my career as a specialist in distressed businesses, shaping the work I do today.

Mission Focused: Aligning People with Purpose

Success doesn’t happen by accident. Organisations only thrive when the right people, individually and collectively, focus on the right things at the right time. I work on the principle that if I need clarity of purpose, so does my team. Whether they love it or hate it, as a leader, I ensure that everyone is clear on what we are trying to achieve and why it matters.

In that same CVA process, we had to maintain morale and ensure employees were still performing despite uncertainty about their futures. The only way to do this was through absolute clarity on the mission—what we needed to achieve to secure survival and what each person’s role was in that process. It wasn’t about empty motivation; it was about ensuring people knew why their efforts mattered.

Systems Thinking: Understanding the Interdependencies

Everything needs something else to survive. If sales are down, what’s stifling them? If customer complaints are high, what’s keeping them alive? A systems thinker understands that nothing operates in isolation, everything needs something else to survive. A leader who adopts this mindset can untangle complexity, identify root causes, and create simplicity out of chaos.

In that same turnaround effort, I had to look beyond just financial figures and understand the operational systems at play. Cash flow was tight, but what was exacerbating the issue? Supplier relationships, credit terms, customer confidence, all of these elements were intertwined. Fixing the problem meant addressing not just cost-cutting but also ensuring supply chains remained intact, confidence was restored, and operations were streamlined to keep the company moving. By applying systems thinking, we didn’t just put out fires; we built resilience into the organisation.

The Path Forward

The reality of business leadership today is that uncertainty is a given. Economic pressures will persist, competition will remain fierce, and unforeseen challenges will arise. The question isn’t if adversity will come; it’s how you’ll respond when it does.

Relaxed Intensity is about maintaining a composed, strategic mindset while driving relentless execution. It’s about staying mission-focused, embracing the chaos of VUCA, and thinking in systems rather than silos. It’s about being the leader your team can trust to steer the ship – no matter how rough the waters become.

Ask yourself:

• How well do you handle uncertainty in your leadership?
• Is your team mission-focused, or are they distracted by the noise?
• Are you thinking in systems, or are you reacting to problems in isolation?

Adopt these principles, and you won’t just survive—you’ll thrive.