RESILIENCE
As a leader, it is crucial to possess a resilient attitude. You will inevitably encounter challenging moments and obstacles, and the ability to navigate these periods with the right mindset and knowledge is essential. This is an unavoidable aspect of leadership that needs to be emphasized.
I love this particular definition of resilience by the Oxford Dictionary:” the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity”. The ability to bounce back from setbacks is often described as the difference between successful and unsuccessful people- Harvard Business Review. Let us look at some ways we think a leader should handle a crisis period.
FOCUS
“The first step is to remain focused and not shift your gaze away from the goal. A loss or failure does not mean that the entire project will fail. In my final driving test, I made many mistakes that I thought should have caused me to fail. I told myself to keep going and do my best until the end. I was surprised when I found out that I had passed. I immediately thought to myself, ‘What if I had given up and focused on the mistakes? I would have made even more mistakes and never found out that I could have possibly passed.”
TEAM STABILITY
Ensure your team is well-grounded and stabilized during this period. They would be looking to you for direction, just like little children look up to their parents. If you are panicking, that would reflect on the whole team and if you show strength and focus, they are most likely going to react as you react. We have faced challenges from 09/11 to COVID and the ways leaders have responded played a huge role in the resolution.
ANALYSE & RE-ANALYSE
This should be a time to dissect what is working right and where tweaks are needed. At this point, you need to sit down with your team and delve into what went wrong. If you are a data-driven organization, looking into some figures can be a good pointer to aid resolution. It might be necessary to have externally sourced experts to have a review with fresh insight.
ADAPTABILITY
To achieve success, it’s essential to be adaptable and flexible when analyzing results. Start by listing out all your available options and resources, and then prioritize them based on what you believe will work best. Take inspiration from people who have encountered similar occurrences with successful results and learn from their strategies. Do not be afraid to try new approaches and adapt to the changing world around you. Remember, traditional methods may not always be the best, so be open to blending in innovative ideas and techniques. Only then can you evolve and achieve the desired results.
PREPAREDNESS
Turn the lemon into lemonade. Do not wait for challenges to find you first. Go for the challenges, find them before they find you. Do not be afraid of anything, not even failure. Learn to play out different scenarios for any project and always have a plan if it ends up driving you along any of these possible lanes. Change is constant in life, you simply can not escape it. How you handle change and your preparedness for change are the most important.
So, what strategy do you have ready to tackle tomorrow?
Do not let anything catch you unaware.
How do you plan to handle that rejection?
How do you plan to get settled into that new post? Are you well equipped and ready when it comes?
How do you handle that colleague who is always downplaying you?
What are the challenges you experience in your day-to-day life? Share them in the comment section and let us plan a strategy together.