I’m writing this from Dubai.
Over the past weeks, we have been living with the reality of drone and missile attacks from Iran. The UAE government has responded with extraordinary competence and care, and I am deeply grateful for that. We are safe.
But safe does not mean unaffected.
Projects have been put on hold. Clients have left the country. All of my in-person coaching has shifted, almost overnight, to online sessions. The business landscape has changed, not because of anything we did, but because the world around us shifted.
I imagine some of you know this feeling. Maybe not from the same circumstances, but from your own version of it. A market that turned. A deal that fell through. A team that suddenly looked to you for steadiness, when you weren’t entirely sure you had it yourself.
This is the moment that defines a leader. Not the strategy you build when everything is going well. But who you choose to be when it isn’t.
So what actually helps? Here are the things I come back to, and that I share with my clients, when the ground shifts beneath us.
1. NAME WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING
Don’t perform calm. Start with clarity.
The worst thing we can do as leaders is pretend. Your team can feel the tension, and silence makes it worse. Acknowledge reality simply and honestly. “This is a difficult period. Here is what I know. Here is what I don’t know yet. Here is what we will do.” That alone steadies people more than any motivational speech.
2. RETURN TO WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL
Your focus is your power.
In uncertain times, the mind wants to scan for every threat. That’s exhausting, and it drains exactly the energy you need. Each morning, ask yourself one question: What is the one thing within my control today that will matter most? Start there. Do that. Then move to the next.
3. PROTECT YOUR PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ENERGY LIKE A RESOURCE
You cannot lead from empty.
Sleep, movement, and moments of stillness are not luxuries right now; they are your most important business decisions. When everything feels urgent, the temptation is to push through. Don’t. Walk. Breathe. Rest. These are not indulgences. They are your competitive edge.
4. STAY CONNECTED — GENUINELY
Reach out. Not to update. To connect.
Check in with your team, your clients, your peers, not just professionally, but humanly. Ask how they are. Really listen. In times of disruption, the quality of your relationships becomes the most valuable asset you have. People remember who showed up when it was hard.
5. LET THE DISRUPTION REVEAL THE NEXT GAME
Something is always being born in the breakdown.
This is not the first time disruption has reshaped my world.
When Covid hit, I had just moved to Hong Kong and was building my coaching business locally. Overnight, the in-person model disappeared.
What felt like a disruption became a turning point. Moving online allowed me to work with clients across geographies in a way I hadn’t before. My business didn’t just adapt; it expanded.
Now, navigating the disruption here in Dubai, I find myself in a similar moment. Coaching has moved fully online again, and with it, new clients in new places, new conversations I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Disruption has a way of stripping away what was merely convenient and forcing us toward what is truly possible.
Ask yourself: What is this period making possible that wasn’t before?
A question for you:
If this challenging period turned out to be the beginning of something better, what would that look like for you?
