A leader for all seasons?

Whether I am speaking with business leaders who do not know if they will be able to meet their next payroll or helping my daughters to understand and process why school will not start in person this year, I find myself drawn to the idea of seasonality. On the one hand, it helps to contextualize my understanding of current issues as part of a larger flow of new challenges that come into my life to be faced. On the other hand, it provides hope that a new season will come in which today’s challenges have been overcome to build a better future. It is a call to understand the world as a rhythmic cycle of challenge and celebration, retreats and advances, instead of a linear journey from start to finish. This duality, contextualizing the present while setting the table for future success, is what good leaders do.

I find myself frequently recalling the melody from The Byrd’s hit song, Turn! Turn! Turn! that set the words of Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 to a catchy tune:

• For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

There is no doubt that we are deep in a season of uncertainty, doubt, and fear in which we are unable to freely embrace each other and our normal lives. It is easy to focus on the worst parts of our current reality. Looking at the quote above, words like “a time to die,” “a time to break down,” “a time to weep,” and especially “a time to refrain from embracing” seem to leap off the page. However, successful leaders rarely dwell on the present. Just as farmers understand the need to plant seeds well before they expect to harvest, effective leaders prepare themselves for the season to come even as they address the challenges at hand. If you wait for things to get better before you get started, you will miss your chance to celebrate when the next season comes. While simple, this concept is incredibly difficult to put into daily practice.

It is difficult to find time to build leadership skills while focused on the day-to-day work of running a business. Few leaders have time to research and discover whether they are a transformational leader, situational leader, servant leader, or something else entirely. In good times, leadership theory and practice is often left to academics to discuss and debate while practitioners get on with the business of running their organizations. In hard times that lack of preparation and development can be deadly; some organizations will not survive for lack of effective leadership. But all is not lost. 

Even during a downturn, space can be found for leadership development. Leaders can and must plant the seeds now that will position their organizations to succeed when the next season comes. In fact, many of the largest companies in the US today got their start during economic downturns. Leadership lessons learned by guiding a business through recession have helped companies as diverse as General Motors, Hewlett-Packard, Burger King, Hyatt Hotels, and Trader Joe’s go from struggling start-ups to industry titans that are among the largest in their respective industries. Whether by trial and error or intentional study, the leaders of these organizations realized what leadership is at its core: one-part decision-making and one-part sense-making. No matter what type of leader you are, the need for hope in the future and the business of sense-making is booming. While trial and error can get the job done, there are much more efficient ways to develop yourself. 

Your leadership is a tangible expression of your personal, professional, and company values. It is critical to your identity as a professional and is among your most valuable assets. You can grow your leadership in ways that increase your organization's chances for success. Whether you are among the thousands embracing e-Leadership for the first time or your business has been able to continue with traditional operations, your business will be impacted. Even for those relatively lucky firms who have seen massive growth in recent month, this season will turn. Will you be ready? 

Creating time and space to work on yourself and on your business in the face of uncertainty is not easy but it is critical. Making decisions that put the present in its proper context and set the table for future success is how leaders help their organizations survive and thrive in their market niche. It is a skill and your people and customers are counting on you to develop it. It is not easy, but outside perspective can help.

Let’s get to work.

Note: a version of this article originally appeared on the Wendworks company blog.

References:

• DasGupta, Probal (2011), Literature Review: e-Leadership, Emerging Leadership Journeys
• Macauley, David (2020) Values-based leadership, Wendworks
• Salahuddin, Mecca (2010), Generational Differences Impact on Leadership Style and Organizational Success, Journal of Diversity Management
• Wilson, Mattew (2020), 14 Successful Companies that Started During US Recessions, Business Insider
• Yang, et al. (2011), The association among project manager's leadership style, teamwork and project success, International Journal of Project Management