We are living in a time defined by disruption. Technology is advancing faster than our
ability to keep pace and even the nature of work itself is being rewritten. In a single decade, we’ve witnessed the rise of artificial intelligence, hybrid work, burnout epidemics, and redefined career paths.
For many professionals, especially women in STEM, the result is a constant state of uncertainty. The old rules no longer apply. What once made us successful doesn’t always work anymore. As leadership coach and speaker, Julie Jungalwala, puts it, “We’re living in the most disruptive decade I’ve experienced.”
In the face of this instability, many of us search for frameworks, strategies, or role models to follow. But as Jungalwala reminds us, “You don’t lead yourself by trying to fit into someone else’s box.” The real work begins with leading ourselves first.
The New Reality of Change
Change used to happen in waves; now, it feels like a constant tide. Neuroscientists have found that uncertainty activates the brain’s threat response, the amygdala, causing anxiety and a narrowed focus.¹ This “fight or flight” state can keep us reactive, stuck in survival mode rather than creativity or growth.
The challenge, then, is to build the internal stability that allows us to adapt without losing ourselves. Research in leadership psychology shows that those who thrive during disruption share one defining quality: self-leadership.²
Self-leadership is the ability to regulate your own mindset, emotions, and actions when the path ahead isn’t clear. It’s about staying grounded in who you are and what matters most, even when everything around you is changing.
A Map for Leading Yourself Through Change
Julie Jungalwala describes four predictable stages we move through during times of transition:
- Uncertainty – This first stage brings confusion and self-doubt. The familiar fades before the new has formed.
- Release – You begin letting go- of control, old identities, job titles, or long-held expectations. Psychologists call this “psychological flexibility,” and it’s a cornerstone of resilience.³
- Exploration – You start running small experiments- trying new skills, ideas, or roles. Think of these as “velcro experiments”: easy on, easy off. Each step builds confidence and clarity.
- Momentum – Gradually, your choices align with your purpose. Momentum builds on itself, and your path begins to take shape.
The problem, Jungalwala says, is that “Western minds want to go straight from uncertainty to momentum.” We’re not trained to value the messy middle, the space of experimentation and learning. Yet it’s in that middle where true growth happens.
Three Practices to Navigate a Disruptive World
Julie teaches three core practices that help leaders, and all of us, adapt in times of disruption:
- Follow your curiosity. Neuroscience has shown that curiosity activates the brain’s reward system and enhances learning.⁴ In uncertain times, curiosity keeps you open rather than defensive.
- Give yourself grace to be a beginner. As psychologist Carol Dweck’s research on growth mindset reveals, embracing imperfection builds long-term mastery. Change requires patience and compassion for yourself.
- Run small experiments and make choices based on what you learn. Not every attempt will work, and that’s the point. Each test reveals new insights about what truly fits.
The more we practice curiosity, self-compassion, and experimentation, the more clarity we gain about who we are and how we want to show up in the world.
Redefining Success in the Age of Disruption
Traditional ideas of success, climbing a single career ladder, maintaining “work–life balance,” or sticking to one path, no longer fit the world we live in. The fastest-growing group of small business founders today is women, many of whom are leaving rigid systems to design work that integrates with their lives and values.
Jungalwala encourages a new approach: work–life integration rather than balance. Integration means responding week by week to the needs of both your work and personal life, without guilt or unrealistic expectations. “Ask yourself,” she says, ‘Looking back over this month, how has the flow been, and am I okay with that trend over time?’
This kind of self-reflection transforms chaos into choice. It’s how we reclaim agency in a world that constantly demands more.
The Human Possibility to Adapt
Disruption isn’t going away. But it doesn’t have to mean disconnection or burnout. When we develop the skills to lead ourselves, we not only navigate change more effectively, we expand our capacity to thrive within it.
And when we do this work together, in community, not isolation, the impact multiplies. “Nobody should do this work alone,” Jungalwala emphasizes. Communities like WEST give women a space to voice what they want, share what’s not working, and build the momentum that leads to real change.
If you’ve been feeling like the way you’ve been working no longer fits, or if you’re simply ready to lead yourself through the next chapter, join WEST and Julie Jungalwala for The Promise of Human Possibility: Learn, Adapt, and Grow Amidst Constant Change on December 4, 2025. You’ll gain a science-based framework, practical tools, and the support of a like-minded community to help you lead yourself, and others, confidently through disruption.
¹ Hsu, M. et al. (2005). Neural systems responding to degrees of uncertainty in human decision-making. Science, 310(5754), 1680–1683.
² Manz, C. (1986). Self-leadership: Toward an expanded theory of self-influence processes in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 11(3), 585–600.
³ Kashdan, T. B., & Rottenberg, J. (2010). Psychological flexibility as a fundamental aspect of health. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(7), 865–878.
⁴ Kang, M. J. et al. (2009). The wick in the candle of learning: Epistemic curiosity activates reward circuitry and enhances memory. Psychological Science, 20(8), 963–973.