When challenging news hits, do your emotions rise? Does your tone and intensity kick up a notch? Do your actions become more frantic and fast paced?
If so, you are probably making the situation worse.
When you are a leader, the people around you will mirror your response. In a time of crisis, you must have the best thinking from everyone.
We all fight battles at some point in our lives and careers, and some of these struggles can last a long time. Lengthy battles cause weariness. Over time, weariness erodes our confidence. When we lose confidence, we can easily lose our perspective.
When a leader loses perspective for too long, it can be terminal.
So what should one do who finds themselves tired, fearful, and confused? Here are 5 suggestions for those of you who might be trapped in this very uncomfortable place right now.
I had the opportunity to work with one of our favorite clients last week in Denver. Our team organized and led a two day experience for their top performing managers and sales force. It was a wonderful time.
Wonderful, that is, once I arrived.
I will spare you the brunt of my travel woes, but my day involved cancelled planes, standby, and an arrival just 3 hours after the event started. Slightly stressed (or just a bit more than slightly), I made it to the site with just 15 minutes to spare before I was to speak on Coaching Leadership.
It was at this event that I learned about the term “reboundability”. After my presentation, I was talking to a few of our clients and I shared about my day’s mishaps. This is when our friend and client Melanie Nygren shared this idea of reboundabilty.
In challenging times, most leaders spend the majority of their time playing defense. This means time spent reviewing cash flow, sales reports, and financials so they can make the best reactive and tactical decisions in order to survive. Cost cutting, expense control, layoffs…..ugh!
Dealing with these very real scenarios can really bring a leader down. And the unfortunate thing is that, if he spends too much time each day focused on these activities for too long, he and his team will begin to lose sight of why they do what they do. They will lose sight of the mission, they will no longer see opportunity, and they will lose hope.
Ultimately, if the leader has both eyes down on the data, the organization’s health and culture will suffer.
