Leading Your Company Through This Time of Crisis
Leaders in a Moment of Crisis
Every second every day is crucial as you never know when a crisis may occur. Too many leaders panic as they may not have any contingency plans for any problems, obstacles, or anything else that blocks them from accomplishing end-goals. How will you handle this?
Economists have penciled in a recession in their forecasts for this year: 2023.Essentially, leaders should be prepared for any downturn and have a plan for when this event happens. Crisis situations can happen at any moment, and they can make or break your business. How will you fare in these types of situations? Think carefully before you respond.
“Only those leaders who act boldly in times of crisis and change are willingly followed.” ~ James M. Kouzes
In a 1959 speech, John F. Kennedy famously said: “When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters: one represents danger and one represents opportunity.” This may not change the crisis, but it should change the way leaders look at how to handle the crisis itself.
Crises Are Opportunities to Lead
“Crisis moments create opportunity. Problems and crises ignite our greatest creativity and thought leadership as it forces us to focus on things outside the norm.” ~ Sam Cawthorn
Are you up to the challenge? Any situation where you need to work through an obstacle, block, problem, etc., requires leaders to lead rather than sitting back waiting for them to be over with. If you do that, you will not just miss opportunities, but most likely your job will be up for grabs.
As a recession is about to possibly knock on your door any minute, do you know what to do to reduce the impact on your company? Crisis leadership requires a prepared mindset. Crisis leaders take the time needed to figure out what is going on.
Crises Require Executives to Both Lead and Manage Effectively
“When you have that window of opportunity called a crisis, move as quickly as you can, get as much done as you can. There’s a momentum for change that’s very compelling.” ~ Anne M. Mulcahy
Leading through a crisis requires taking the long view, as opposed to simply managing the present. You need to anticipate what may come next week, next month, and even next year in order to prepare the organization for the changes ahead. You need to delegate and trust your people as they make tough decisions, providing proper support and guidance based on your experience while resisting the temptation to take over. Every crisis is a learning opportunity for leaders to sharpen leadership skills and be challenged to use full potential to go beyond just surviving to thriving.
All Crises Are Opportunities
“Within crisis, are the seeds of opportunity.” ~Marilyn Monroe
Every crisis is an opening to opportunities as long as you are open-minded and don’t panic. Every change represents a new beginning. Leadership is being tested in ways the world hasn’t seen in a long time as the recent pandemic still leaves remnants of itself that impact what you do today.
Crises create space for new proposals and possibilities to emerge. During times of crisis, true leaders emerge through the ranks as people take risks to create new ways of doing things and generate new ways of thinking to solve specific problems.
Innovate To Grow
“In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity.” ~ Albert Einstein
Crisis often accelerates innovation. As new problems develop, businesses are forced to tackle these with new, innovative solutions. If there is one thing that a crisis makes clear, it is that things can change quickly in various ways. Change gives way to innovation and this, in turn, gives way to growth.
Leading Your Way Out of a Crisis
“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste… This crisis provides the opportunity for us to do things that you could not before.” ~ Rahm Emanuel
Start to think differently and don’t panic. Dismiss phrases like “It’s impossible,” or “It can’t be done.” Nothing is impossible if you don’t try. Ask yourself: “What opportunities does this crisis create?” Ask yourself: “How can I be prepared for the next crisis?”
In looking at the situation you are going through, you need to see it from a different perspective. Opportunities come in many different forms. When you look at what you already have and combine it with a new idea, you will see how much better you’ll be to ride out the crisis as it impacts you less than you initially expected. Crises are generally viewed as dangerous, expensive, and detracting from other agendas and priorities.
“As President Kennedy suggested, out of crises can emerge new and incredible opportunities, particularly if traditional approaches and paradigms are questioned and challenged.” ~ Maria Langan-Riekhof
Crises Are Opportunities to Lead
“Opportunity often comes in disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat.” ~ Napoleon Hill
Crises necessitate leaders under time and pressure constraints to respond quickly with new solutions. Individual leaders matter to set direction. A recession can provide opportunity for growing your business if you are savvy enough to see what’s happening just before the crisis, during the crisis, and after the crisis ends. You can take advantage of it before you start to feel the impact on your business. Crises can have a positive outcome for companies.
Have an Action Plan
“The true test of leadership is how well you function in a crisis.” ~ Brian Tracy
Write down what you can do and what you will do the first few days when a crisis hits your company – because inevitably, you will experience a crisis. Extend that out to the next month and beyond for least six months out. You may not need that long, but it helps just in case. If you need to extend beyond the six month, think about other approaches you can do until the crisis ends. If not, you were still prepared.
The main question to ask yourself is, “Are you leading through the crisis … or managing the response?
“In a moment of crisis, reactions set the leaders apart from the followers.” ~ Peter B. Stark