This year's Belgian 'Noir Jaune Blues' report came out this morning.
It is a comprehensive study by the Fondation "Ceci n’est pas une crise" revealing that our society is grappling with profound emotional turmoil. The prevailing sentiments are those of anxiety, uncertainty, and fatigue - a triad of negative emotions that have left many feeling ensnared and immobilized. This pervasive sense of helplessness has led to a majority perceiving themselves as mere victims of circumstances beyond their control.
The study highlights that a whopping 69.2% of individuals now yearn for authoritative political governance, a significant increase from previous years.
Concurrently, only 19.3% express a desire for open societies, indicating a troubling shift towards retribalization. This inclination is further exacerbated by a profound distrust in political leaders, who are often viewed as disconnected and lacking empathy. Such sentiments have eroded the essential trust required to maintain societal cohesion.
When People Lose Trust, They Seek Control
This very well documented societal shift towards retribalization, characterized by an “us versus them” mentality, blaming and scapegoating, and a craving for centralized authority mirrors trends observed within corporate environments:
- Declining trust in corporate leadership: employees increasingly feel unheard, skeptical, and disengaged.
- The rise of control-based management: in the face of uncertainty, many leaders instinctively tighten their grip, imposing more rules and oversight.
- Blame culture and scapegoating: teams often seek out culprits rather than collaboratively developing solutions.
- Psychological exhaustion: a workforce that is too drained to challenge the status quo, innovate, or think long-term.
When individuals feel they have lost control, they don’t merely seek guidance: they demand certainty. The simplest way to provide that is through a leader who “takes charge”, even if it comes at the expense of autonomy, nuance, and collaboration.
The Leadership Trap: Control vs. Clarity
Business leaders face a pivotal question: will you lead by control or by clarity? The instinctive response to uncertainty is to centralize power, impose rules, and demand compliance. However, control is not synonymous with clarity. True leadership doesn’t entail dictating outcomes; it involves helping people make sense of the world. This is where the narrative dimension of leadership becomes crucial.
The Solution: Leadership as Facilitation, Not Authority
Effective leadership is not about top-down command but about restoring a sense of agency through:
• Narrative practices: People need to be heard before they can engage. When leaders integrate structured storytelling, shared narratives, and collective meaning-making, employees transition from passive resignation to active contribution.
• Facilitating emotional belonging: The antidote to retribalization isn’t neutrality; it’s connection. When leaders create spaces for dialogue, emotional validation, and psychological safety, teams shift from fear to trust.
• Replacing control with clarity: Employees don’t need more rigid frameworks; they need leaders who articulate a vision they can see themselves in - a role they can step into, not just a job they perform.
• Moving from power to empowerment: People don’t need a hero; they need a sense of ownership over their own future. Leaders who cultivate structured autonomy (clear frameworks without micromanagement) create high-trust, high-performance environments.
• Rebuilding trust through radical transparency: leadership isn’t about telling people what to think; it’s about equipping them to make sense of their reality, together.
The Future of Leadership: From Retribalization to Renewal
The default human response to fear is to tighten control - whether in governments, corporations, or individual teams. However, strong leadership isn’t about exerting more control; it’s about creating more clarity. In a time of emotional exhaustion, social fragmentation, and distrust, leaders must transition from authority to facilitation, from top-down control to shared agency, and from scapegoating to collective responsibility. This is the future of leadership—not just in politics, not just in business, but everywhere.
For those who read french, check out pages 35 and 54 of the report, they provide interesting frameworks of meaning-making.