By Randy Goruk
As we firmly enter the second half of 2020, we can expect the time between now and January 2021 to fly by. As it does, we have to prepare to lead our teams through the year’s extreme challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic and other events—hurricanes, tornadoes, monsoons, cyber-crime, social unrest, unemployment, economic instability, and more—concern us. Beyond that, we face a presidential election that could change our country significantly.
During this challenging year, stay focused on these nine success factors that will foster exceptional leadership during times like these.
1. Recognize that leadership during challenging times is not much different than any other time.
Demonstrate unwavering character: Lead with actions, words, and behaviors in the best interest of those you serve. Take the high road when you’re faced with challenges, and just do the right thing.
Show you care: Show you care about the well-being of your employees, customers, vendors, and community. If you don’t care about them, why should they care about you? What is one more action you can take to show you care?
Communicate fully: Tell others where you’re at, where you’re going, how you’ll get there, and what it will be like when you arrive. And don’t feel you have to plan and communicate all on your own. Solicit suggestions from people on your team.
Think things through: Acknowledge that you might not be an expert in the tough issue(s); however, you can gather facts, do research, consider options, and then assess the consequences of your decisions. Think it through without procrastinating.
Be mentally tough: Accept that many decisions you will make are unprecedented. Summon your courage to implement them. If you stay grounded by your values, your mission, and your vision for the future, making the right decisions will be easier.
Embrace accountability: Don’t wait for others to take action. You are the leader.
2. Confirm that the messages you send are clearly understood by your stakeholders.
Do you care about the wellbeing of all stakeholders? Do your words and actions truly demonstrate you care? How do you know? Do you have a clear plan of action your stakeholders know about? Is it really understood by everyone? How do you know? Do you provide status updates frequently? Are your messages filtering through to all your stakeholders? How do you know?
To confirm, don’t limit your one-on-one conversations to those on your management team. Expand your reach to your customers, vendors, and frontline production, sales, and service associates. Be easy to reach and be someone people are happy to hear from. Mostly, ask great questions. This is how you will really know. Remember, if your communications on challenging issues are ineffective, you risk your people experiencing an erosion of trust, respect, and loyalty.
3. Don’t wait until a challenging event is behind you to create a recovery plan. Instead, strategize now so you’re ready to execute solutions when they’re needed.
Think about your stakeholders, products and services, positioning and value proposition, competitive advantage, and other elements of your unique business. Get a running start once you’ve put the challenges behind you. Don’t expect your business to return to the way it was; it likely won’t. Instead, take responsibility to prepare for a new reality.
4. Heed the advice of key stakeholders in a positive way while seeking creative solutions to challenging situations.
As you tackle problematic situations, remain positive and open-minded by implementing creative solutions that lead to the best outcomes. Applying creativity can: drive new products, introduce new processes, improve quality, stimulate fresh thinking, promote teamwork, solve underlying problems, save time in the long run, make you more money, and set up a better work environment.
5. Demonstrate patience when dealing with difficult situations.
Your patience is important when introducing a new strategy. It can take time to prove your idea is the correct strategy. When it’s successful, your reward will be extremely satisfying. Apply patience when developing people. Although some people take longer to excel than others, you’ll find the value resulting from their development worth the wait.
6. Use perseverance and resiliency to adapt to change and then move forward.
To develop perseverance and resilience, adopt these ideas: Don’t stress over what you can’t control. | Be calm and remain positive, knowing “this too will pass.” | Stay connected to those who maintain positive attitudes. | Eat well and exercise regularly to keep your body strong. | Accept that change will happen and do your best to embrace it. | Stay laser-focused on your short-term goals. | Do not lose sight of your long-term purpose. | Communicate to inform, inspire, and initiate action. | Look forward, not backward, as you develop creative solutions. | Celebrate your wins—you will have many along the way.
7. Remain grounded and consistent in your decision-making despite the uncertainty.
Position yourself to think through considerations in advance. You’ll gain clarity when you take time to think, plan, and reflect. Use your company vision, mission, and business values as your guiding light to decision making. They form the foundation of your business and should never waver. Get feedback, remain open-minded, and ask great questions. Don’t play favorites. Rather, do the right thing for the business. Remember, decision-making is about business; it’s never personal.
8. Maintain your focus on solutions while avoiding distractions.
Focus takes self-discipline and mental toughness. You know if you are mentally tough when you don’t get distracted by outside situations, remain clear and objective during turmoil, stick to your plan, remain confident in any situation, successfully deal with conflict, follow the rules and know when to change them, and don’t let situations you can’t control bother you. Ask yourself: How can I get even better in each of these areas?
9. Ensure your organization stays active with professional development.
Without continuous professional development, you’re missing an opportunity to develop the skills and capabilities of your team. It’s during challenging times that team members must be at their best. Having an ongoing plan ensures that happens. When you abandon professional development, you send a deflating signal to your team and risk your organization’s strength, the quality of its work environment, and its business growth.
CLOSING THOUGHT
After facing challenges for a long, it’s understandable you might grow tired of the disruption. Still, be patient and encourage everyone around you to be patient, too. Each challenge will pass. By reflecting, problem-solving, and planning, your preparation will pay off.
About the author:
As a leadership development and employee engagement specialist, Randy Goruk works with leaders to increase team engagement and business growth. For help with professional development, contact Randy at randy@leadersedge360.com. Register to receive his Leadership Tip of the Week at www.leadersedge360.com.
Modern Contractor Solutions, September 2020
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