When organizations face uncertainty—stock fluctuations, shifting priorities, or internal restructures—it’s easy for teams to slip into survival mode. Confusion leads to assumptions. Assumptions lead to anxiety. And even top performers can start to wonder:

“Am I working on what really matters?”

In seasons like this, a leader’s job becomes crystal clear:
Keep the team engaged and productive.

Here’s a framework to help do just that.

1. Control the Narrative—or It Controls the Team

When communication is unclear or inconsistent, people fill in the gaps with their own stories—and those stories often aren’t generous.

To lead well, take control of the message. That doesn’t mean spin. It means:

Acknowledge the truth of what people are feeling and facing.
Name the mission-critical priorities that everyone should rally around.
Share what you know—and what you don’t yet know.

Ignoring the elephant in the room doesn’t make it disappear. It erodes trust.

2. Clarify the Win

When everything feels urgent, nothing feels important.

Leaders can combat burnout by giving people focus. That starts with naming the essential 3–5 things the organization must accomplish in the next quarter or two.

Then, invite each team member to consider:

What am I doing that contributes directly to these goals?
What feels disconnected?
Where do I need clarity?

One helpful framing:

How we will win
Why we should still believe in this mission and roadmap
What we need from each person to move toward victory

3. Anchor to Identity, Not Just Output

There’s a powerful analogy from Days of Thunder: Tom Cruise’s character, post-accident, is panicked inside a smoke-filled racetrack. His spotter radios in: “Stay high. Stay high. It’s going to clear.”

That’s what leadership can feel like in a foggy season—steering forward with limited visibility, trusting the track will open up. Ugh, I know its hard to believe it’s going to clear!

When the work gets hard, identity keeps people grounded.

Why am I doing this work?
What kind of leader or teammate do I want to be right now?
What legacy am I leaving in this chapter?

Purpose sustains people when plans are still evolving.

4. Use the 'Customer Is the Hero' Framework—Internally

Adapted from Donald Miller’s StoryBrand model, this framework helps shape effective leadership communication:

The team is the hero
The leader is the guide
The problem is burnout or lack of focus
The solution is clarity and alignment
The outcome is momentum, meaning, and impact

Use this structure to organize messaging:

Problem – “It may not feel like we’re working on the most important priorities.”
Solution – “Here are the top 5 priorities. Let’s align every project to them.”
Outcome – “When we do this, we move forward together, with pride and purpose.”

5. Ask Questions That Unlock Ownership

Sometimes, the best move is to stop telling—and start asking. Two coaching questions to use with individuals and teams:

“How are you staying engaged and productive right now?”
“What would help you do that more consistently?”

These questions:

Normalize the challenge without minimizing it
Invite people to surface their blockers
Encourage autonomy while showing support

Leaders aren’t responsible for solving everything. But they are responsible for creating the space for honest dialogue and personal ownership.

6. Make 'Engaged and Productive' Your Leadership Filter

One simple phrase can become your leadership compass:
“My number one goal is to keep people engaged and productive.”

When that becomes the lens:

Messages get clearer
Decisions get sharper
Meetings become more focused
Coaching becomes more grounded

It gives structure to what you say, what you ask, what you celebrate—and what you stop doing altogether.

Final Thought: Work ≠ Progress

There’s an infamous slide from the war in Afghanistan—an over-engineered PowerPoint that tried to explain an entire military strategy in one graphic. It was dense, unclear, and impossible to follow.

The general leading the briefing reportedly said, “When we understand this slide, we’ll have won the war.”

Clarity is leadership. Not complexity.

Don’t confuse movement with momentum.
Don’t mistake effort for alignment.
Help people focus on what actually moves the mission forward.

Work doesn’t equal progress. Alignment does.

If your team or organization is facing foggy conditions, this is the moment to lead with clarity, identity, and focus. The mission hasn’t changed – or maybe is HAS —but how people experience their role in it might depend entirely on how clearly it’s communicated.

And that starts with a question worth asking in every meeting:

How can we help our people stay engaged and productive—right now?