Three Ways to Reduce Your Uncertainty by Reinforcing Your Human Value

This is Johanna Rothman’s February 2026 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email.

Steve, a long-time colleague, described how he feels about his career: “I feel as if I’m balanced on a small ball and it won’t take much to push me off. One bad management decision—poof! My job is over. And I’m in my forties, so finding a new job is going to be really tough.”

While no one has ever had a guarantee that any job would last, this economy feels different. It seems as if we have a lot more uncertainty about everything, not just work.

Here are the three suggestions I offered to Steve, all focusing on reinforcing his human value.

Network widely, both inside and outside the organization.
Build a reputation for realistic optimism. There are two parts to that:
- Delivering high-quality work inside and outside the organization
- And focus on what you can do instead of what you cannot do. (This does not mean you say yes to all requests. That’s impossible.)
Support other people, because you never know when they might succeed and support you back.

Notice that there is nothing about tools and technology in these three areas. While I do recommend you learn about new tools and technologies, there is always someone with more experience and expertise than you have.

That’s why I recommend you focus on assessing and then exposing your human value.

#1: Network Widely

In Manage Your Job Search, I said that loose connections would help you find your next new role. (The bones of that book are still useful. All the social media ideas are woefully out of date.) That works regardless of where you want to expand your network (internally or externally).

I recommend you increase your network both internally and externally, especially if you want to find a new role. And don’t worry about whether the other people are “too young” or “too old.” Networks are about connections.

The more connections you have, the more your network can support you. If you’re wondering about how to use a network at work, see this newsletter: Scale Agile With Small-World Networks.

We use small-world networks to create small and larger communities. Those communities can help us navigate the uncertainty.

The larger the organization, the more likely you are to build more connections in your network. That better network might allow you to learn about a new job before it’s posted.

The more you connect with other humans, the more likely you can make connections about the state of the work. That’s a very human thing to do. (That’s why some managers want people back in the office—to make serendipitous connections.)

One way to build your small-world network is to be realistically optimistic and to deliver value to others. Yes, even to people who do not directly have a role in your performance evaluation.

#2: Build a Reputation for Realistic Optimism

Every organization has problems. It does not matter if you work for a large or small company, or volunteer professionally or personally. We work with humans. And humans have good days and bad days.

Those good and bad days might trigger us to be more or less optimistic or pessimistic.

However, no one likes a “Debbie Downer,” the totally pessimistic person. And people get angry at unrealistic optimists, those people who insist that everything is rainbows, unicorns, and puppies. Because we can see just how bad things are.

We need realism. With that realism, we can decide what we can do in these circumstances.

I am not suggesting you take on more and more work. Absolutely not! (I wrote a series about this, starting with Saying No to More Work.)

Make sure you set yourself up to deliver what you promised. And, while you do that, is it possible for you to do other people a favor to make their lives easier? They might reciprocate at some point. That’s all about support.

#3: Support Other People’s Actions

The single best way I know to increase my network and to be realistically optimistic is to support others. It does not matter if you support a person in a meeting, helping them find a new job, or even offering an appreciation.

Those people notice when you support them. Even better, their connections also notice. This is the same idea as in Leadership Tip #6: Give Credit as Often as Possible.

The more you can support others, the more likely they are to support you when you need it.

All of these ideas reinforce your human value.

Our Humanity Helps Us Reduce Uncertainty

As Steve started to network, he realized that a different product needed the work his team provided. The two teams started using their small-world network to exchange information. As they finished work, they realized where they needed other people and teams. Steve said, “I had no idea all these other people had the same problems I did. We are now helping each other.”

While I used work as the context for this newsletter, these ideas apply anytime you have—or want—collaboration between humans.

We need each other. Especially in times of great uncertainty. Don’t think you can forge on alone. Instead, build your network, see what you can do with realistic optimism, and support others.

Anyone can try to compete on technology. That’s a fool’s game. Instead, we can reinforce our humanity. That’s where the value is.

#1: Network Widely

#2: Build a Reputation for Realistic Optimism

#3: Support Other People’s Actions

Our Humanity Helps Us Reduce Uncertainty

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