How to Lead Through Ambiguity Without Losing Credibility or Control

“Everything is changing—and I’m expected to stay calm, clear, and convincing.”

If you’re a CEO, CPO, or senior executive working in AI or advanced tech, you’ve likely felt the same. At Lucent Search, I hear this from leaders every day, especially those navigating talent strategy while trying to maintain cultural credibility in environments where strategy shifts biweekly.

That’s why I hosted a live session with Dr. Suzanne Doyle-Morris, an executive coach I’ve personally worked with, to unpack what it really means to lead at the executive level when the terrain keeps shifting. What we discussed wasn’t just theory—it was the toolkit leaders need right now.

Here are the five core insights that emerged—and why they matter for your hiring, retention, and leadership strategy.

1. The Real Crisis Isn’t AI—It’s Leadership Under Uncertainty

Executives aren’t losing sleep over new tools. They’re losing sleep over the loss of strategic control, the ambiguity in decision-making, and the fear of appearing inconsistent when direction changes constantly.

We called this emotional undercurrent “change rage”, a quiet but growing response to relentless pivoting, unclear priorities, and emotionally disconnected cultures. It’s not rage in the traditional sense. It’s withdrawal, defensiveness, and overwhelm that erode productivity and decision quality from the top down.

2. Your Credibility Doesn’t Come From Having the Answers, It Comes From Holding the Space

Too many senior leaders still feel pressure to have “the plan.” But in volatile environments, leadership isn’t about certainty. It’s about consistency in the unknown.

Suzanne reminded us that leadership is presence. It's knowing when to pause, how to ask the right questions, and how to hold space for three core mindsets in your team:

• The early adopters (who are eager to move fast)

• The pragmatists (who want to see it work)

• The skeptics (who feel threatened or cautious)

All three are valuable - especially the third group. Skeptics are often the ones who surface risks and challenge assumptions that others miss. Smart leaders welcome this tension.

3. Critical Thinking Is the New Currency, But Most Cultures Don’t Allow It

Across roles and functions (from CTOs to Heads of People) leaders are telling me they want candidates with stronger critical thinking skills. But here’s the problem: most organisations don’t give them the space to think.

What you need now are leaders who demonstrate:

• Emotional agility: More than listening. It’s sensing when to challenge, when to support, and when to stay silent.

• Contextual judgment: Prioritising what matters now, not just what fits a playbook.

• Adaptive communication: Crafting messages that land with the right tone across hybrid, remote, or high-pressure settings.

If you're hiring senior tech leaders, these are the capabilities that matter most because they shape how your business will react to failure, change, and public pressure.

4. Resilience Isn’t Just Personal, It’s Strategic Infrastructure

Burnout isn’t a middle-manager issue anymore. It’s surfacing at board level, in C-suites, and among founding teams. The antidote? Strategic resilience, which starts with reflection.

One of Suzanne’s most practical tools:

Ask yourself, “What would my older, wiser self say about this decision?”

When executives pause to align decisions with personal values, not just KPIs, they make better, more sustainable choices. It’s not soft. It’s strategic.

At Lucent Search, I now see resilience being requested for every senior hire. It used to come up for commercial roles, now it’s a baseline for CTOs, VPs of Engineering, and HRDs. Why? Because in fast-changing companies, leaders must stay steady even when nothing else is.

5. Leadership in the Age of AI Still Comes Down to Humans

We can automate workflows, but not empathy, nuance, or judgment. We’ve seen what happens when companies adopt a “tools first” mindset without bringing people with them. Teams fracture. Customers rebel. Brands backpedal.

Think of the recent missteps from companies who rushed to reorg without context. Hiring and firing decisions made for speed, not stability. Tools adopted without conversation. The cost of those errors? Damaged culture, reputational risk, and lost trust at scale.

If you're shaping your senior team right now, prioritise leaders who can sense tone, adjust communication styles, and read a room, even when it’s on Zoom. Those are the people who’ll carry your culture forward.

Final Thought: Leading Through Change Is a Skill You Can Hire For

What’s clear is this: You can’t future-proof your business without future-proofing your leadership. That doesn’t mean chasing certainty. It means hiring and developing leaders who thrive in uncertainty, who know when to pause, who hold space for others, and who ask the questions that matter most.

If you're building out your senior leadership team, especially in AI, engineering, or digital product functions, let's talk.

• Explore the Lucent Knowledge Centre for more executive insights

• Listen to the Lucent Perspective podcast for conversations with senior operators

• Book a meeting with Rebecca Hastings to discuss your hiring plans

• Connect on LinkedIn and share how you're navigating ambiguity in your team

• Watch or listen to the full conversation on YouTube