What Great Leaders Do During Troubling Times

Just about everywhere you turn, there’s nothing but bad news. The U.S. economy, the Ukrainian war with Russia, and the COVID-19 pandemic are just a few examples. This creates anxiety about the future for our employees and customers. Let’s discuss the topic of leading during uncertain times.

As business leaders, we need to instill a sense of hope and confidence to help people get through these troubling times. I purposefully use the term leader instead of manager. As the graphic indicates, leaders set the direction and tone of the organization and they lead the charge. While on the other hand, managers assign work and maintain controls.

Characteristics of Great Leaders

During these challenging times, what can we do to be better leaders? Here are a few characteristics of great leadership:

• Attitude—Having a positive attitude is important because people tend to follow the behavior of their leaders. If you have a negative attitude, your people will follow suit and nobody wants to work in that type of environment.
• Clear Direction—Great leaders provide a clear picture of where they and the organization are heading.
• Focus—Leaders are focused on the tasks to achieve their goals and don’t get distracted by the “next coolest thing.”
• Confidence—Like attitude, confidence is a state of mind that you’re going to be successful. Confidence is important because people will be looking to you on how to behave, particularly if things aren’t going 100 percent right. If you remain calm and poised, team members are far more likely to as well.
• Communication—One of the most important characteristics of leaders is communication skills. This is especially true of listening skills. Great leaders listen much more than they speak and when they do speak, they provide good, honest feedback.
• Embrace and Learn from Failure—As a leader, you’re not going to win 100 percent of the time. The key is to accept failure, learn from it, and move on.
• Integrity—Great leaders keep their promises and employees can count on them to keep their word.
• Growth Mindset—Leaders consistently look for opportunities to grow. Whether it’s growing your business, growing your team, or growing personally. Great leaders share their knowledge with the team and allow them to achieve. This is how leaders gain their respect and loyalty.
• Delegation—Good leaders know how and when to delegate. No matter how much you might want to, you can’t do everything yourself.
• Provide the Environment for People to Succeed—Great leaders provide the proper work environment so people can do their best work. This can be a physical environment such as an office setup. It can also be company policies that treat people fairly and responsibly.

These are a few examples of the characteristics of leading during uncertain times, and while none of us are perfect, we all should strive for improvement. If you’re not sure about your leadership abilities, ask people around you for their feedback. Listen to what they say and don’t get defensive or judgmental. You want to encourage them to speak honestly. And, most importantly, don’t shoot the messenger and, if appropriate, take a step to show people you are willing to try new things and make changes to improve your leadership skills. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. People will respect you for being genuine.

During trying times, people will be looking for leaders to provide direction. Leading during uncertain times is about projecting confidence and calm that things will be alright.

If you need help, Norten Consulting can provide guidance on how to become a better leader.