Our nervous systems weren’t ready for the level of uncertainty we’re facing right now. That’s according to Dr. Brené Brown, author, researcher, and professor, who spoke at Fortune ’s Most Powerful Women Conference in Washington, D.C. on Monday.

“It is extraordinarily difficult to be brave right now for a lot of different reasons,” Brown said. “Politics is one, but [also] radically changing markets. A workforce that is—I’m going to tell you right now, people are not okay. If you’re leading people, you probably know people are not okay.”

People are neurologically wired for certainty, not for a high level of stress, fear, and uncertainty, Brown said. Successful leadership at work today requires self awareness, managing one’s nervous system, metacognition (or thinking about how we think)

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