If there is ever a time more than others that a business needs a strong leader it is now… in times of uncertainty and fear.
Barb Taylor Krantz, psychologist, consultant and coach with The Bailey Consulting Group offers her advice to small business owners and executives on how to lead in times of uncertainty and fear.
Barb summed up her reasons for wanting to offer assistance in this area with this quote by Ronald Heifetz in an article published in the Harvard Business Review:
“Steering an organization through times of change can be hazardous, and it has been the ruin of many a leader.”
Krantz feels that in all of her 20 years of working with leaders of small businesses, this advice seems especially relevant now. The leaders she coaches have economic survival at the top of their minds as they see their business revenue dropping. Uncertain when business will improve, leaders (like everyone else) are looking into their crystal balls, hunkering down, coping the best they know how, cutting expenses, delaying purchases, and even reducing staff.
What is EQUALLY important however, is for leaders to pay attention to how they manage themselves and their people in the midst of these difficult times and in the aftermath of tough financial decisions. Leaders set the tone and the climate for the organization, its teams, and constituents. Others look to the business owner and leaders for clues on how to interpret and respond to what is happening - the “playbook” on how to handle these times. The reality is there is no playbook. Business owners and leaders are living in an unprecedented economic era – bereft of past best practices to turn to for clues as to how to survive and build a bridge to a better future. No one knows what the future will hold, what recovery will look like, when it will happen, or how businesses will evolve to sustain and grow in the future.
So how DO leaders put their best leadership foot forward in these times? In the absence of a playbook, it’s time to fall back on principles – key characteristics of effective leadership. In his book “Grown-Up Leadership”, Barb’s business partner, Leigh Bailey, describes these as Maturity, Versatility, and Relationship-based Leadership. How do they translate right now?
Maturity – self-awareness and self-management. It is imperative for leaders to know their strengths, weaknesses, blind spots, fears, delights, stressors, and energizers and to manage themselves accordingly. The fishbowl of leadership is watched very closely right now – as leaders lead, others follow. They must identify, face, accept, and deal with their own fears and anxieties in order to help others do the same. If leaders try to lead from a place of fear, they can become paralyzed and fail to move forward.
If, on the other hand, leaders lead from a place of future orientation – toward the achievement of mutually beneficial goals – they grow healthy, dynamic, and capable of inspiring others to do the same. If leaders balk and hesitate in their actions, their teams will follow suit. If, on the other hand, leaders are courageous and determined to maintain forward momentum, their teams will also follow suit.
Versatility – acknowledging biases, preferred styles and, yet, being flexible enough to adapt to changing conditions. It is imperative for leaders to develop a wide range of complementary skills. What has worked in the past for leaders may not work right now. If leaders are naturally hands-on and tactical with a preference for getting things done, they may find that others are not responding as effectively they once did to their analytical, black-and-white, task-oriented approach to the world. In times of uncertainty and fear, leaders must develop the ability to listen and relate to others, to consider alternative approaches, different points of view, entertain new possibilities, and spend time attending to the emotional needs of others.
On the flip side, if leaders are more relational in their orientation – tending towards people and values rather than facts and tasks, they may find themselves in an unrealistic place, failing to confront reality in favor of handling the people side of things. In this instance, leaders must develop the ability to take an objective look at the short and long term reality of their situation and deal with the business implications of a set of choices and actions.
Relationship-based leadership – enhancing and leveraging strong interpersonal skills, developing others, building and leading effective teams. In times of fear and uncertainty, for leaders, being accessible to others is absolutely critical. They must have open doors and open minds. Their ability to put aside their own agenda and listen intently to others to coach and engage them in mutual problem solving helps to prevent the myopia and self-centeredness that could lead to a fall. They must communicate – over communicate, in fact – what they know AND what they don’t know. People aren’t necessarily looking for promises or even reassurance; they are looking for what truth is available to them so they can make decisions and take action based on good information rather than speculation. In the absence of information, people make stuff up – typically bad (or wrong) stuff. It is a leader’s duty to give them the best information possible so they can make informed decisions.
The best advice for leading in times of uncertainty and fear? Taking a page from Nike – “Just Do It.” Don’t wait for permission, guidance or direction that is not forthcoming. Take the risk. Be big. Lead.
If you would like to contact Barb Taylor Krantz, you can email her at bktaylor@thebaileygroup.com or through LinkedIn.
If you would like to contact me, you can do so by emailing me at mike.clough@bestbizpractices.org or visiting my LinkedIn page.
Posted by: Mike Clough
