January 2025

Thriving In The Unknown: Mastering The Art of Uncertainty

I love the Indiana Jones series! Those movies are part of a small list of productions that I turn on anytime I see one being aired (Harry Potter is another). Remember that scene in The Last Crusade when Indiana Jones was at the last obstacle before discovering the Holy Grail, the Leap of Faith? What a great scene! Standing at the edge of a deep chasm, he must take a step, trusting that a firm foundation will be there to help him get to the other side. In many ways, that what it feels like when we make a significant decision in our lives. We can plan, manage risks as best we can, and consider all possible outcomes. But when it comes to making it happen, it can feel like the Leap of Faith. Life has a way of handing us situations and events that we could never anticipate, introducing uncertainly all around us.

Uncertainty is an inevitable part of life and leadership. Whether navigating industry disruptions, organizational restructuring, or personal crossroads, it challenges our ability to plan and adapt. Yet, how we handle uncertainty determines whether we merely survive or truly thrive.

Let’s dive into a few thoughts on how we can embrace the unknown, leverage it for growth, and emerge stronger.

Your Coach,

Tim

President & CEO, Turknett Leadership Group

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FEATURED MEDIA

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH TLG CONSULTANT, Rick Stone

What is one takeaway about storytelling you’d like our readers to remember as they navigate uncertainty in their own lives or organizations?

Well, I want them to embrace the power and value of storytelling and to recognize that it offers incredible value to leaders and organizations that is often unrecognized and unseen. And so, when leaders and organizations consciously embrace the idea that story is an incredibly powerful tool, maybe the most powerful tool in the universe, then they are equipped to always ask the question, “what story are we telling and what story, uh, do we want to be telling?” Once you know that you can't ever go back to being a victim of uncertainty and change again, you can become an actor within a world of uncertainty, you can be empowered to make a difference.

What Employees Need From Leaders in Uncertain Times

Timothy R Clark | Harvard Business Review

It’s one thing to lead through a normal range of uncertainty with its ups and downs. But how do you lead when the inflections, disruptions, dislocations, and other threat conditions pile up, as they have in the last few years? While the leader has little to no control over the external competitive environment, they have astonishing influence over the internal performance environment, including employee engagement, morale, and productivity. How can leaders help their people flourish during extreme uncertainty? The author presents four practical strategies to help you engage employees under the most unforgiving of circumstances.

Women in Leadership

We are thrilled to announce our next live virtual event!

For 31 years, OnBoard’s Annual Study has tracked women’s representation in the corporate landscape, using progress in Georgia as a barometer for the national landscape. By measuring and publicizing key demographic trends in executive leadership, OnBoard has caught national attention and influences tangible progress. Tune in to gain further insight into what’s behind the data and what can be done to achieve gender parity, at senior leadership levels.

Listen in as our speaker shares her unique experiences and insights.

Facilitated by Anne Quiello, M.S., PCC

Senior Consultant & Host of Women in Leadership

JANUARY WIL RECAP

Want to find out more? Here are some resources from our speakerss:

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... And Others Don't - Jim Collins
The Challenge:

Built to Last, the defining management study of the nineties, showed how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the very beginning.

But what about the company that is not born with great DNA? How can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness?

The Study:

For years, this question preyed on the mind of Jim Collins. Are there companies that defy gravity and convert long-term mediocrity or worse into long-term superiority? And if so, what are the universal distinguishing characteristics that cause a company to go from good to great?

Catch Up with TLG

HR Live Atlanta Community Food Bank

On Jimmy Carter's National Day of Mourning, our team had the privilege of volunteering at the Atlanta Community Food Bank, where we joined in honoring the legacy of President Carter through service to our community. The opportunity to contribute our time and efforts to such a vital cause was deeply meaningful. We worked together to sort and package food, helping to ensure that individuals and families in need received nutritious meals. Our collective impact was significant, and it was humbling to see how our contributions, even in small ways, could help alleviate food insecurity in the greater Atlanta area.

We are incredibly grateful for the chance to give back in this way and for the opportunity to honor President Carter's lifelong commitment to serving others. Volunteering alongside so many dedicated individuals reminded us of the power of community and the importance of working together to create positive change. It was a rewarding experience, and we look forward to continuing to volunteer with the Atlanta Community Food Bank in the future.

Talent Connections - Celebrating 25 Years in Business

Congratulations to Tom Darrow and the entire team at Talent Connections on 25 incredible years in business! We were thrilled to attend your celebration earlier this month and join in honoring this amazing milestone. Your dedication to fostering talent and building strong connections has made a lasting impact, and we’re so grateful to have you as a valued business partner. Here’s to 25 more years of success and innovation!

SHRM Lunch and Learn

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the SHRM Lunch & Learn: 2025 Workforce Development! We were thrilled to host such an engaging session at South Cobb Diner, featuring incredible insights from Breezy Straton, Vice President of Elevate Douglas. Your energy, questions, and participation made this event a success! Together, we explored trends and strategies shaping the future of the workforce, and we’re excited to see how these ideas will inspire growth and innovation in your organizations. Stay tuned for more opportunities to connect and learn—here’s to building the workforce of tomorrow!

What We're Reading

Uncertainty and Enterprise: Venturing Beyond the Known

Uncertainty--doubt about what is or could be--fuels our ambitions and fears. Tantalizing possibilities spur us to innovate and explore. Yet, we also strive to reduce uncertainty. Mountain climbers and deep-sea divers plan carefully. Rules, routines, and research in business, the law, and medicine are designed to increase predictability and forestall unpleasant surprises.

Mainstream economics, however, hides from uncertainty, banishing it to the mystical world of unknown unknowns or reducing it to mechanistic calculation. Its textbooks ignore everyday problems that lack demonstrably correct solutions. But resolute responses to such problems require confidence. Where does confidence come from, especially when we go beyond the known? How do we justify our fallible judgments to ourselves and others?

Get The Book

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't

The Challenge:

But what about the company that is not born with great DNA? How can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness?

The Study:

Get the Book