I just returned from a short vacation with my family at the beach. The ocean is always healing for me—the sound of the waves, the endless horizon, the reminder to breathe deeper. But I came back carrying an unwelcome souvenir: a summer cold that left me sleeping for days. Despite the restorative time away, I started back at work still tired, emotionally fatigued, and facing the same to-do list and unresolved questions for my organization and our sector.
I’ll admit it: I’m impatient. Impatient for clarity around the future, impatient for progress, impatient for results that feel just out of reach. If you’ve led in the nonprofit or public media world lately, you likely know this feeling too. So the question becomes: how do we reset when fatigue is real, and we are impatient for answers.
Why Uncertainty Fatigues Leaders
Unlike physical tiredness, leadership fatigue stems from sustained cognitive and emotional strain.
- Ambiguity overload. We are making decisions with incomplete information—navigating policy shifts, unstable funding, and changing community needs.
- Responsibility without resolution. We carry the weight of missions, staff, volunteers, and audiences while many outcomes remain unresolved or beyond our control.
- Impatience for closure. For mission-driven leaders, the gap between effort and results is especially exhausting. We want to serve our communities better, now.
The result is a cycle: the more we long for closure, the more drained we feel by its absence. Left unchecked, fatigue can dull creativity, cloud judgment, and erode our connection to purpose.
Resetting in the Midst of Fatigue
Fatigue is not a failure. It’s a sign that we are carrying the work with seriousness. The challenge is finding ways to reset without waiting for all the answers to appear.
- Celebrate the small wins. During the pandemic, our sector proved we could adapt under enormous strain. Stations found ways to keep broadcasting, provide emergency information, and sustain connection when everything else was uncertain. That resilience was built one step at a time. I was reminded of this recently while preparing a board report. What felt like one more exhausting task actually became a reset: looking back revealed progress I hadn’t given myself credit for, and that perspective was energizing.
- Reframe time horizons. Progress isn’t only measured by final closure. Every step forward—whether securing a grant, opening a new partnership, or making a single decision—is worth naming.
- Ground in mission. Our mission carried us through the pandemic and continues to anchor us now. Public media leadership is about long arcs of service, not instant results. Returning to that truth helps temper impatience.
- Normalize rest as discipline. Rest and reflection are not indulgences; they are strategies for sustainability. I’ll admit this is a practice I’m still working on myself—I’m perfectly imperfect here and learning to take my own advice.
Name the impatience. Saying “I’m tired of waiting for clarity” takes away some of its hidden weight. It also opens space for empathy and shared resilience with colleagues.
Where to Find Inspiration
When outcomes remain unresolved, we can still widen our lens and draw energy elsewhere:
- Look backward. We endured the pandemic—pivoting, serving communities, sustaining stations when everything was upside down. That resilience is proof that we can endure uncertainty again.
- Listen outward. The voices of volunteers, listeners, and artists often remind us why the work matters. A single story of impact can rekindle purpose.
- Seek beauty. For me, it was the ocean horizon. For you, it may be music, art, or spiritual practice. These moments remind us of the larger story we’re a part of.
- Draw from people, not just outcomes. The trust, collaboration, and solidarity we share with colleagues are themselves sources of renewal.
A Mantra for Fatigued, Impatient Leaders
When impatience and fatigue press in, I return to a simple mantra:
“Breathe. Notice what is real. Honor the small steps. Trust the mission.”
It doesn’t erase uncertainty, but it allows me to carry it with steadiness.
The Paradox of Leadership in Uncertain Times
Uncertainty exhausts us because it challenges our desire for control and closure. Yet leadership—especially in nonprofit and public media—has never been about having all the answers. It is about holding space for communities and colleagues until answers emerge.
Fatigue signals that we care deeply. Impatience shows that we long for better outcomes. Both can be tempered when we celebrate small wins, ground ourselves in mission, and let inspiration in from beyond the urgent moment.
I am learning this, too. Writing my board report helped me see the progress I had been too tired to notice. Pausing at the ocean helped me remember perspective. And even admitting I need to take my own advice has been clarifying.
We may not always get the closure we want when we want it. But if we can reset, reframe, and breathe into the in-between, we’ll find the stamina to keep leading—faithful to our missions, steady for our communities, and ready for the clarity that, in time, will come.
Postscript: Further Reading for Leaders
If this resonates, here are three excellent resources from nonprofit leadership voices on navigating fatigue and uncertainty:
- Suzanne Smith — Managing Uncertainty: How Nonprofit Leaders Can Reclaim Their Energy
https://socialtrendspot.medium.com/managing-uncertainty-how-nonprofit-leaders-can-reclaim-their-energy-567e353fda61 - Lynn Fick-Cooper (Center for Creative Leadership) — Guidance for Leading Through Uncertainty
https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/leading-through-uncertainty - The Batten Group — Nonprofit Leadership in Times of Uncertainty
https://thebattengroup.com/navigating-leadership-in-times-of-uncertainty-how-to-navigate-change-and-stay-resilient
And for NFCB members: this fall we’ll host a management training on “Leading Through Uncertainty” with concrete tools and peer learning opportunities designed specifically for community radio leaders. Not a member? Learn how to join.
