I have the distinct privilege of coaching some of the most successful business and organizational leaders in the world. And what I keep seeing is that from medicine to engineering to education and business at every rung of the ladder, people are grappling with great uncertainty.

A couple of weeks ago I was working with a leader of a Fortune 50 company with responsibility for over 100,000 employees. He pronounced “This is the toughest global environment I have experienced in 25 years.” And whether you are living through these times from the top perch of a corporate giant or as part of a team on the ground or as an entrepreneur or freshly-minted college graduate, the world will continue to be reshaped, reorganized and remade in ways that can no longer be predicted with any real confidence.

Unfortunately when times are scary, our natural tendency is to hunker down and reinforce the fortresses we’ve been building to protect ourselves. But in this new world, one of the most dangerous things you can do is to hide out and sit tight waiting for things to blow over because mostly they won’t. Instead each person, each business and each organization must choose to step up and out into an arena that will continue to be full of flux, instability and uncertainty.

Here are a few ways to set yourself up to win in these times:

Don’t Fight the Moment

We are in a moment in history where much of our world is being reinvented and uncertainty permeates the reality of our times. Don’t fight it. Stop reminiscing about the way things used to be or fantasizing about the ways they should go. Instead sift through the novel opportunities of this moment to bring something to life of real value and substance that could not have happened under earlier circumstances.

Challenge Your Assumptions

You may notice that you have very specific thoughts about the people and events in your career that appear as “the truth” for you. Sometimes they are negative; “I can’t get my ideas heard, “my manager doesn’t appreciate me”, “my colleague is smarter than I am”, “it’s too late”, and sometimes they are positive “my company is great”, “I’m on the right track”, “my promotion is coming soon” - but unexamined they leave little room for something different to emerge. Ask someone you really trust and admire to look with you; “What am I not seeing?”, “How else could I look at this situation?”, “What if the opposite of what I believe is true?”, “What possibilities don’t I see?”.

Step Out and Speak Up

One of the byproducts of uncertainty is that there is no clear roadmap for the future. If in the past “one” person could have “the” answers, today organizations and companies must entertain new thinking and navigational help from a broader spectrum of sources. This means that your contribution is wanted and needed and can be as valuable as anyone else’s, regardless of title, degrees, or years of experience. You just have to be willing to do your homework, step out and speak up.

Don’t Underestimate the Value of Trust   

In a highly uncertain and unpredictable world, trust will continue to become one of the most valuable currencies of our time. This means you’ve got to take careful action to build trust with others, maintain that trust once established and quickly repair it when broken. Positioning yourself to win in these times must include being the one others can count on to speak the truth, gain the appropriate knowledge, honor their word, keep a confidence, deliver the goods, accept responsibility and hold others to account for their promises.

To download a copy of Deb’s free success strategies audio go to: www.debshaw.com.

Deborah Rosado Shaw is a Fortune 500 advisor, award-winning entrepreneur, career & success coach, author & speaker.