The power of leading with possibility, not just preparedness.

Uncertainty is the hallmark of business today.

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in. Healthcare, higher ed, consumer products, professional services – leaders everywhere have contingency plans for their contingency plans. Everyone is taking note of the labor market, the regulatory environment, the technological advances and the cultural temperature. There’s plenty of risk, confusion and even anxiety to go around.

But if you look beyond the headlines and the unique circumstances of today, the true challenges leaders are facing are as old as time.

Executives have always had to lead in the midst of difficulty and uncertainty, balancing new ideas with both risk and optimism. I’ve had the privilege of starting three agencies (and selling two of them), serving as a publisher for a major national newspaper, holding board positions for publicly-traded companies and advising clients through the decades on all the most sensitive issues: Restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy, market evolutions, labor disputes, corporate crises, executive transitions. It’s never been easy.

But in my experience, the leaders who stand out are the ones who face uncertainty with courageous optimism and curiosity.

It takes courage to face the headwinds and dream up new solutions. We need curiosity to see hard circumstances from new angles. And we need optimism, grounded in reality, to take a swing, accept a risk and go after a big win.

It’s the mindset embodied by people like my friend Cookie Till, an award-winning restauranteur, who had the creativity and optimism to launch a nonprofit addressing food insecurity, soil regeneration and community inclusiveness in Atlantic City. In 2020. And today, A Meaningful Purpose at Reed’s Farm is more than an organic farm. If you visit, you’ll find that it’s truly grown into a community hub with training, education and therapy programs to invest in the health of the community on every level.

It would have been easy for her to look at the depth of the challenge and nuance surrounding food insecurity and simply not try.

It’s easy for people to wring their hands on the internet about all the challenges they’re facing and the factors that are out of their control. And that’s where a calm, curious and optimistic leader stands out in their communication.

Negativity creates unproductive spirals. I remember when the city of Philadelphia was preparing to welcome Pope Francis to America for his first (and only) visit during the World Meeting of Families. The security teams were doing their jobs to create the most secure outdoor environment possible. Roads would be closed, with limited entrances, security checkpoints, and more.

The hand-wringing started immediately. The walks would be long; residents not attending the event would be unable to move around the city; et cetera, et cetera. The spirit of celebration was being siphoned by the negative narrative.

We were handling strategic communications for the World Meeting of Families, and recognized an immediate need to take control of the spiral and inject some optimism and fun into the story instead. We rebranded the “security perimeter” (sounds harsh) to the “Francis Festival Grounds” (sounds exciting, and comes with the expectation of a closed perimeter). We launched an “I’ll Be There” campaign with leaders throughout Philadelphia, reframing it as a must-see event instead of a “How can I get out of the city?” situation.

As we start 2026, there’s plenty of hand-wringing to go around. In my line of work, there’s a lot of conversation – and rightful concern – about the increasing fracture of news sources, polarization of audiences, and decline in trust, all layered on top of the rising cultural temperature, uncertain geopolitical environments and increasing adoption of AI.

Those things are all true, and we need to respond to them carefully. But as leaders and communicators, I want to invite you to join me in bringing more curiosity into these conversations. What are the angles we’re not seeing yet? How could these challenges be reframed? What if we made a big play and it really worked?

Courage, curiosity, optimism. Those are the voices people want to hear – and follow – this year. And if those are the hallmarks of your work and communication, you’ll find the hidden opportunities and be able to pivot around any setbacks that come your way.