For industrial, clinical, and analytical laboratories, volatility has become the standard operating baseline. Shifting regulatory requirements, rapid technological advancements such as artificial intelligence, and unpredictable economic cycles create a complex environment in which traditional planning models fall short. During the 2026 Lab Manager Leadership Summit session, Industrial Innovation: Leading Through Economic and Regulatory Volatility, Scott Hanton, PhD, editorial director at Lab Manager, explained how organizations can navigate these pressures. Rather than retreating into risk avoidance, lab managers must build operational risk resilience by shifting toward decisive, strategic planning. In a term coined by the US military, this volatility creates a VUCA environment—characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity—where technical leaders often delay critical decisions in a search for certainty. However, in a fast-moving market, this perfectionism is a liability that stalls progress.
Developing operational risk resilience in volatile conditions
Scientific training predisposes technical leaders to be risk-averse. Researchers seek statistical significance, eliminate variables, and run controls before drawing conclusions. While this rigor is essential for discovery, it can paralyze operational decisions. Many organizations fall into the ready, aim, aim, aim, aim trap—always preparing but never actually firing. Driven by a fear of making the wrong choice, leaders fall into analysis paralysis, obsessing over choosing the perfect software vendor or research direction.
"I worked for a company for a long time where we did ready, aim, aim, aim, aim. Ready, ready, ready, aim. There was no fire," Hanton shared. To break this cycle, lab managers must force decisive momentum. Waiting for perfect clarity only paralyzes the organization; leaders must accept the presence of missing variables, establish a firm direction, and execute with exceptional standards.
To break this bottleneck, leaders can look to the culinary world. Renowned chef Charlie Palmer noted that his kitchens do not strive for perfection; they strive for exceptionalism.
"Years ago, I was taught that you can't let perfect get in the way of exceptional," Hanton shared.
Perfection is a static, unattainable standard that breeds fear of failure. Exceptionalism, on the other hand, is dynamic. It acknowledges that conditions are messy but demands high standards, rapid adaptation, and decisive action. Leaders must put a stake in the sand, make a decision, and execute.
Communicating with precision rather than certainty
In a volatile market, leaders cannot promise certainty. If a vice president or lab manager promises that a reorganization will go flawlessly, they immediately lose credibility. The team knows that absolute certainty is a lie.
Instead, resilient leaders communicate with precision. For example, instead of promising that a project will succeed on time, a precise leader outlines what the team knows, what they do not know, and what they must learn. Rather than declaring that a regulation will have no impact, they specify the potential bottlenecks they monitor daily, explaining the calculated risks and established mitigations.
"We can tell what we know, what we don't know, and what we need to learn," Hanton explained. "Those are all precise statements. But none of them are certain … If you don't know, don't say you know."
This approach allows your team to prepare for obstacles rather than being blindsided when things do not go according to plan.
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Reframing failure as scientific data
The word failure carries heavy emotional baggage, evoking fear of disappointment, loss, or professional embarrassment. For a research chemist, however, failure is not a terminal state—it is simply a negative result that provides valuable data.
"I'm a research chemist," Hanton shared. "Failure is not part of my vocabulary. I do experiments. A few of them work, and when they do, we celebrate. Many of them don’t work, and then we learn."
Under a traditional operational model, a mistake leads to blame, encouraging staff to conceal errors and resulting in repeated failures. In contrast, a resilient scientific framework treats an action that yields a negative result as a baseline for analysis, directly informing a better future strategy.
Hanton emphasized that leaders must have immediate, accurate visibility when a workflow or trial fails. Without transparency, a manager continues to plan and allocate resources under the false assumption that a project is still on track, thereby locking the laboratory into dead-end pathways.
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The way a lab manager responds when a staff member reports a setback defines the organizational culture. If a leader's reaction conveys frustration or blame, the team quickly learns to conceal mistakes, sweeping failed tests under the rug or dragging out unviable projects. But if the manager's first words focus on what was learned and what vector to try next, they build a culture of psychological safety. The team becomes resilient, transparent, and more innovative because they are no longer paralyzed by the fear of falling short.
Embracing incremental agility to navigate change
Sometimes volatility comes from executive leadership in the form of shifting directives or sudden budget constraints. When priorities change rapidly, taking massive, rigid steps forward can cause you to lose your footing. Instead, leaders must focus on incremental agility—what speaker Curtiss McNair famously described as "wiggling" in a panel discussion at the 2026 Lab Manager Leadership Summit.
If you cannot take a giant leap forward, take a small step.
"If you can't walk, crawl," Hanton advised, building on McNair's analogy. "If you can't crawl, roll. If you can't roll, wiggle. All right, let's just wiggle here."
Slowing down, involving key stakeholders, measuring twice and cutting once, and taking tiny, calculated steps allow you to test the ground. This prioritization of incremental, flexible progress over massive, rigid milestones keeps your team moving forward.
"Let's take a little step," Hanton noted. "Ask, does that feel like progress? Are we agreed that that's the right direction? It's not the right outcome yet, but is it the right vector? Is it the right direction? If so, we'll take another step ... If we're going in the right direction, we're going to get there."
Managing leadership fatigue to safeguard personnel and compliance
Deciding to build a resilient, high-performing laboratory requires immense energy and emotional stamina from the leadership team. A lab manager must project calm confidence, absorb staff anxieties, navigate top-down corporate pressures, and maintain strict operational standards.
This is exhausting work, and many managers fall into the trap of self-sacrifice, working 70-hour weeks and neglecting their own well-being to keep the facility afloat. This self-neglect represents a serious operational hazard. To lead a team through economic and regulatory storms, you must actively invest in your own self-care. Prioritizing adequate sleep, protecting professional boundaries, and stepping away from the bench when necessary ensures you preserve the cognitive clarity and emotional reserve required to guide your department with true, lasting stability.
"Put your oxygen mask on, because if you pass out, you're not helping anybody," Hanton cautioned. "Invest in yourself. And then be proactive."
This article was created with the assistance of Generative AI and has undergone editorial review before publishing.
