Leadership in Turbulent Times: Three Strategies for Success
By Todd McDonald
Published on Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 under Leadership, Personal Development
All things equal, leadership is what will help one team—one organization excel over others. One of the great equalizers right now is the economy and its impact on all organizations, no matter what your industry. There’s hardly an industry that isn’t being impacted one way or another by today’s challenging business environment. The question for many of us as business owners and leaders is whether we are stepping up to the challenge of leading in turbulent times?
Leadership is difficult when things are going well but is doubly hard right now. When faced with leading in difficult times it’s important to keep things in perspective and stay away from falling into a reactive role. Too often we sit back waiting for things to happen and then deciding what to do. This makes us reactionary leaders—and frankly, almost anyone can be a reactionary leader. What we need in challenging times are leaders willing to lead… willing to do what it takes to help our organizations excel and take advantage of opportunities in times of change.
It starts with CHECKING YOUR RADAR. Great leaders understand the importance of looking ahead and analyzing what is happening in their industry, in their organization, maybe even the world. Airplane pilots don’t wait until they’re going through turbulence to decide what to do. They‘re checking their radar, looking at what’s ahead. By looking ahead and understanding what they will be encountering they can determine how they want to deal with the turbulence. They might choose to “take a southerly route” and avoid the situation or they might choose to “buckle up and ride it out”. The key though is being proactive, not reactive.
As a leader, once you’ve identified what’s on your radar and how you want to deal with it the key is COMMUNICATION TO GAIN COMMITMENT. Nothing great was accomplished by a single person. The Lone Ranger even had Tonto! Leaders will not survive in turbulent times without enlisting the support of those around them and the best way to gain that support is to share information. Information is power and when team members have information—when they understand the situation and what is expected they will do what it takes to make great things happen.
Finally, as leaders we need to MODEL THE WAY. If you ignore the changes going on around you, get stressed out, shut down communication or avoid making difficult decisions… what do you expect your team members to do? Like it or not, they follow your lead! Have a positive, practical attitude in difficult times. Be willing to work through difficult issues. Over communicate. Go out of your way help others. By doing this you’ll be amazed by what others do around you. With great challenges come great opportunities. Are you doing what you can as a leader to make sure your organization faces the turbulence and not only survives but thrives?