Navigating the Third Dimension: Leading Through Policy, Politics, and Uncertainty
Leadership today is less about control and more about navigation — finding balance when politics, policy, and business collide.
A year into this Administration, transformation and disruption are reshaping nearly every sector of business and society. From new regulatory pushes to unexpected executive actions, the pace of change has felt less like acceleration and more like volatility.
At a recent Vanguard Forum for General Counsel, Mike Froy, Taras (Terry) Szmagala, , and I led a candid discussion on what it means to lead, and to stay afloat, in this environment.
“This is a near-impossible time to be a GC,” one participant said, and the room nodded. For years, general counsel have learned to thrive in what one might call a two-dimensional world, balancing law and business. But today, politics has entered as a third dimension, and it is reshaping every decision, every risk calculation, and every conversation in the boardroom.
The modern GC is now inseparable from government affairs. Regulation is not a backdrop; it is part of the main stage. And as the executive branch and courts wrestle for influence, the lack of predictability is the new normal. As one speaker put it, “The rules are changing every day.”
In this climate, emotional intelligence and connection are no longer soft skills. They are survival tools. Leaders need the EQ to read the mood across agencies, industries, and partners, and the networks to learn how others are reacting to a threat. Everyone, as Mike said, “needs a life preserver on at all times.”
That does not mean panic. It means readiness, the willingness to throw out your map and embrace a new one when the situation shifts. It means not jumping ship when you hit the iceberg, but adapting course with speed, resilience, and perspective.
Across sectors, the leaders who are succeeding now are those who can connect dots between HR, compliance, risk, government affairs, and the C-suite, and help their organizations respond coherently in real time.
The era of linear planning is over. Leadership today is a navigation act through unpredictable waters, where every current - legal, political, and economic - can turn overnight. The question is not whether you can steer perfectly, but whether you can keep your bearings when the compass itself starts to move.