Sinking inward drags down during tough times. Weak leaders focus on themselves; tough leaders focus on others. Sinking inward indicates weakness. Moving forward with tenderness is tough.
Weak leaders act tough during tough times but tough leaders remain focused, calm and steady.
First, remain focused on others:
- Ask about their world and forget yours. Their world is your world.
- Honor effort even during failure and correction.
- Lift into the future. Reject falling into the past.
Second, remain calm:
- Slow down and shut up. Frantic leaders create frantic environments. Your tone filters through your organization.
- Listen. Calmness powerfully indicates listening and validates others.
- Decide. Even if you decide to hunker down and ride it out, let everyone know.
Every decision creates a future.
Third, remain steady:
- Seek solutions.
- Trust team mates. Trust means most during tough times.
- Stay on course. Make decisions that express forward movement.
Bonus: Over communicate during tough times.
Tough leaders remain tender during tough times, even when making tough decisions. Weak leaders act tough, grow inflexible, sink inward and eventually break.
What enables leaders to succeed through tough times?
