🎧 Episode Description

In this heartfelt and grounded conversation, Andy, Teresa, and Phyllis explore the experience of uncertainty—how it impacts us physically, emotionally, and mentally, and how we can respond with self-awareness, trust, and intention.

They share vivid personal metaphors (from mountain trails to deserted islands), break down the neuroscience of uncertainty, and offer actionable coaching strategies to navigate it with courage and clarity.

🧠 Topics Covered

• The emotional and physical effects of uncertainty: fear, disorientation, isolation

• The neuroscience of uncertainty: amygdala activation, loss of dopamine rewards, cognitive overload

• Strategies to regulate the nervous system and recover executive function

• The power of intentional interruption—pause, breathe, reflect, reframe

• Building trust in process, self, and coaching containers

• Coaching through uncertainty using perspective-shifting questions

• Creating psychological safety in organizations through process, not just outcomes

💡 Key Insights

• Uncertainty often makes us feel alone or off balance—but it’s also a portal to growth.

• Our brains are wired to seek certainty, but we can train ourselves to tolerate and thrive in the unknown.

• Self-awareness is step one. Knowing your physical, emotional, or behavioral cues helps interrupt fear.

• Intentional actions—walking, breathing, asking better questions—reengage your thinking brain.

• Coaching isn't about solving uncertainty—it’s about creating space for possibilities to emerge.

• Organizations can prepare people for uncertainty by designing trustworthy processes and containers.

🔍 Reflective Coaching Questions

• What does uncertainty feel like in your body and mind?

• What signals tell you your brain has been hijacked by fear?

• What can you control right now?

• What decision today will still make sense a year from now?

• What if this isn’t the storm—it’s the climate?

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• “Just Keep Breathing” – Adapted from Finding Nemo's 'Just Keep Swimming'

• HBR article: In Uncertain Times, Ask These Questions Before You Make a Decision

• Techniques like box breathing, movement, stepping back, and 'on the balcony' perspectives

• Kansas Leadership Center principles (e.g., act experimentally)

📢 Call to Action

Feeling unsteady in uncertain times? You’re not alone—and you’re more resourceful than you think. Share this episode with someone who needs to hear it, and reflect on the questions that move you from fear to forward momentum.

🖱️ Learn more at www.adastracoachalliance.com

🏷️ Hashtags

#GrowthBeyondBoundaries #LeadershipDevelopment #Uncertainty #CoachingTools #NeuroscienceOfUncertainty #IntentionalLeadership #CoachingCulture #AdaptiveLeadership #AdAstraCoachAlliance

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