Navigating uncertainty is not just about plans and projections – it’s about people, too, says Mau Espinosa

Change no longer knocks on the door. It kicks it open, moves the furniture, and dares you to adapt before lunch.

From post-pandemic resets to digital acceleration, the rise of AI, and generational mindset shifts around work, purpose and identity – change isn’t coming: it’s already here, constant and complex. And while organizations scramble to reimagine strategy, it’s often leaders who are caught in the middle, translating vision, managing uncertainty, holding up morale, and still hitting the quarterly numbers.

Yet in most leadership playbooks, the human side of change gets buried under plans and projections. Leaders need a better compass – a way to navigate complexity that offers clarity, compassion and execution.

The LET model

LET stands for logic, emotion and tactics – three leadership lenses that leaders must learn to balance, especially in moments of change. Most leadership models teach us what to do. LET helps you understand how to show up while doing it.

It’s not a sequence. It’s a triad – a mindset, a rhythm. Some days, the moment demands logic: to organize thoughts, challenge assumptions, clarify direction. Other days, you’ll need to lead from emotion: to listen deeply, acknowledge fear, connect with your people. And every day, you’ll need tactical follow-through: actions, not just words.

But here’s the truth: LET isn’t just a business model. It’s a life model. I see it every day. At work, we might have systems that keep us aligned. But in our personal lives, we often run on emotion, short on logic, with no real tactics. We react instead of lead. And practicing LET isn’t just for leaders – it’s for anyone who wants to stop surviving change and start shaping it. 

Leaders who master LET don’t just lead change. They translate it. They create alignment between what the organization needs and how the team experiences it. And in a world spinning faster than ever, that kind of leadership isn’t just valuable – it’s necessary.

How to apply LET during change

In times of change, people don’t just need new plans – they need new patterns. Leaders who practice LET learn to switch between logic, emotion and tactics like a skilled conductor. Here’s how it works in practice.

L = Logic: make sense of the chaos

Logic is the most used – and often the most overused – tool in leadership. Why? Because it offers a sense of control. It makes us feel secure, structured, confident. Logic is powerful because it feels almost unquestionable, especially when backed by data, KPIs, or historical trends. A goal like “35% growth” can sound completely reasonable – even inevitable – when market forecasts and financial models line up behind it. But that’s also the trap. Logic can justify anything. It doesn’t mean the team is ready for it.

What it looks like: 

  • Asking better questions before offering answers
  • Distilling noise into patterns and priorities
  • Using tools like ‘five whys,’ root-cause analysis, or simply separating facts from assumptions

Tip: Start meetings by naming what’s known and unknown. Logic grounds the room. It doesn’t kill emotion – it gives it a place to land.

E = Emotion: lead the human experience

Emotion is the heartbeat of leadership. It’s what keeps the business alive – because people are the business, and people are emotional.

If productivity is low and the target is 35% growth, the question isn’t: “Does the KPI make sense?” It’s: “Why haven’t we done it yet?” Maybe the sales team isn’t engaged. Maybe leadership isn’t aligned. Maybe no one feels connected to the goal. This is where emotion lives: in motivation, in resistance, in alignment.

What it looks like: 

  • Naming the emotion in the room before jumping to strategy
  • Listening without fixing
  • Asking: “How do you really feel about this target?” – and letting silence do its work

Tip: Create ‘emotion checkpoints’ in your weekly rhythm – informal spaces to ask how people are, not just what they’ve done. Leadership is not therapy, but it is emotional work.

T = Tactics: turn direction into motion

It’s easy to set actions. It’s much harder to design actions that matter – and that stick. Too often, we create tactical plans with generic to-do lists for the whole team. But action without personal purpose is just a wish. Real tactical planning requires individual clarity: What is my next step? What’s expected of me in the next 48 hours?

As a manager, your role is to understand each individual on your team – their motivators, strengths and challenges – and align their personal goals with the broader business objectives. 

I like focusing on three moves: small, specific actions that each individual can take in the next few days to build momentum. They ground strategy in immediate, personal motion. For example, in an automotive dealership, a service adviser’s three moves might be calling five customers from last week’s visit to check in; spending 30 minutes reviewing parts availability with the warehouse; and updating tomorrow’s schedule to reduce bottlenecks. In a manufacturing plant, a production supervisor might commit to reviewing yesterday’s defect log; walking the floor to observe one process change; and scheduling a 10-minute stand-up with the second shift to gather feedback. They’re not complicated – but they’re personal, tactical, and tied to purpose. 

What it looks like: 

  • Breaking big goals into micro-actions that
    create traction
  • Asking each team member to define their own three moves – not just agreeing to a general list – and how they align with their personal goals
  • Creating follow-up rituals to track movement, not just intent

Tip: The best tactical leaders don’t create action plans for the team – they co-create them with the team.

When leaders integrate all three – logic to frame it, emotion to feel it, and tactics to move it – they stop being just project drivers and become change leaders. They create alignment within, before trying to create alignment around them.

The leader as translator

In times of transformation, leaders and managers throughout an organization are often seen as execution machines – responsible for implementing the latest initiative, rolling out the new strategy, hitting next quarter’s target. But that’s only half the job.

The best don’t just execute change – they translate it. They take the vision and make it meaningful to everyone. They use LET as their language: logic to explain, emotion to connect, tactics to activate. 

At the center of that translation? Storytelling. But not storytelling as entertainment – storytelling as alignment. The real power of a story isn’t just in how it’s told, but in how it connects strategy to purpose. When a leader’s story resonates with the story of their people, change stops feeling imposed and starts feeling shared. That’s where commitment begins.

Think of it like jazz. The strategy might be the sheet music, but the real performance depends on how the musician interprets it – moment by moment, audience by audience. Leaders are those musicians. And LET gives them the structure and the freedom to improvise with impact.

LET at times of cost-cutting

Some of the most defining moments in a leader’s career don’t happen during periods of growth, but in moments of reduction.

When businesses face financial pressure, market contraction, or shifting strategic focus, difficult decisions often follow: budget cuts, hiring freezes, restructuring and letting people go. These moments test not only our business logic, but our emotional capacity and tactical discipline.

Logic plays a vital role in these situations. Leaders must understand and articulate the rationale clearly: Why is this the necessary path? What alternatives were considered? What trade-offs are being made? A well-grounded explanation – rooted in data, future viability and fairness – doesn’t erase the pain, but it creates transparency. And transparency builds trust.

But logic alone is not enough. This is where emotion must lead. Reductions impact more than roles: they affect relationships, identity and morale. Leaders must be willing to hold space for both the grief of those leaving and the anxiety of those staying. The emotional labor is real. So is the fatigue. The key is to stay present, not perfect. It’s okay to say, “This is hard for me too.” Vulnerability, when genuine, doesn’t weaken leadership – it humanizes it.

And then comes the tactical reality. After the announcement, after the exit interviews, the organization must keep moving. Survivors often feel disoriented, fearful or even guilty. This is when leaders must re-clarify direction: What’s next? What changes? What remains? Tactics in this moment are less about acceleration and more about stability. Focus on manageable priorities. Reinforce roles. Celebrate small wins to re-ground the team.

If you’re a leader navigating a downsizing moment, remember this: how you lead during loss will echo far beyond the restructuring. People may forget the press release – but they’ll remember the tone of your voice, the honesty of your words and how you made them feel.

Of course, cost-cutting is not limited to layoffs. Many organizations also enter seasons of expense reductions – freezing budgets, limiting travel, delaying investment in tools or people. On paper, these decisions often make logical sense: preserve runway, protect margin, maintain investor confidence. 

But culture doesn’t happen on paper. People see what gets cut. They feel what gets scaled back. And while the logic may be sound, and understood, the emotional impact can still be significant. The moment employees feel that “everything is being reduced,” productivity often dips, morale suffers, and cynicism creeps in.

Good leaders recognize that engagement must rise even as budgets fall. You don’t just manage the present – you cast vision for the future. This is when storytelling becomes a strategic asset. It is not enough to explain where we are. You must paint a picture of where we’re going.

As I often tell leaders: “If your vision doesn’t excite you to the bones – and if it doesn’t scare you a little – then it lacks intensity.”

That’s where LET comes alive again. Logic gives structure to the plan. Emotion connects people to the purpose. And tactics break the future into movements. 

In times like these, even a weekly win becomes long-term progress. When people feel seen, understood and aligned, they don’t just survive cost-cutting – they build from it.

Urgency and patience 

Organizational change will never feel easy, but it doesn’t have to feel chaotic. Leadership through change demands both urgency and patience. It calls us to steady the ship while daring to chart a new course, even when the winds aren’t in our favor.

In a world moving faster than ever, leaders are no longer just operational anchors. They are emotional guides, translators of complexity, and builders of belief. When you practice LET, you give yourself permission to slow down long enough to lead with intention – to think clearly, connect honestly and act meaningfully.

Great leaders don’t just stabilize teams. They stir them. They create clarity in the fog, connection in the fear, and commitment in the face of fatigue. Whether you’re cutting costs, redesigning strategy or rebuilding morale, remember: your team doesn’t just need a plan. They need a presence. They need to see that you believe in something beyond this quarter.

When your leadership shows up in logic, in emotion, and in tactical motion, you’re not just managing change. You’re modeling it. Your story is yours to shape. Your team is waiting to follow. Let it be bold. Let it be honest. Let it happen.