Leading During Challenging Times

One of my favorite things to do as a child was to go to amusement parks to ride the biggest and fastest roller coasters. It was exhilarating to experience the accelerated speeds and, of course, the anticipated big drops.?

Eventually, I outgrew rollercoasters as they weren’t as thrilling for me anymore. Yet, if I’m honest, it feels like we’ve been on a rollercoaster over the past few years with the pandemic, a turbulent economy, and lots of uncertainty. And in the?year ahead,?more instability and challenges are expected.

In these times, strong leadership is paramount.?

Here are four key strategies to consider when faced with any challenge…

Communicate Openly

There are two differentiators of success: results and relationships. The heart and soul of a relationship is trust. When it comes to the dynamic relationship between leaders and employees,?trust is a must.

This is especially true when going through a challenging time. You maintain trust during challenging times by communicating openly. Share what you know and give employees a platform to share their feelings openly.

One of my client leaders was experiencing a tough business quarter. She knew that potential layoffs could be on the horizon. The leader decided to share this information with her staff.??Of course, the staff was not happy about the message. The leader allowed her staff to vent and share their feelings.

Soon afterward, the leader quickly redirected the meeting to strategize on what they could do as a team to turn things around in the business. The team shared great ideas; a few of their ideas were implemented. Less than six months later, the business became more profitable.

The leader’s decision to communicate openly with her team not only increased trust but also transformed a very challenging situation.

Activate Your Confidence

Oftentimes when I work with clients, one of the top areas that we focus on is building their confidence. If you were to ask someone what makes them feel confident, a common response you would likely receive is?being prepared.

When you are faced with a challenge filled with uncertainty with no predictable outcome in sight, feeling confident and prepared could be unimaginable but I am here to share with you that it is absolutely imaginable and possible.?

Here’s how…consider reminding yourself of your past accomplishments and when you were able to confidently overcome a significant challenge. What happened? How did you show up??And what was the end result? Use this information as fuel to ignite your confidence while addressing the current situation.

Also, consider tapping into resources around you, including:

• your managers,
• your peers,
• your mentors, and
• other people in your network who have faced similar challenges.

What actions did they take and what recommendations do they have on how to handle the situation? Lastly, develop a plan to address the challenge with milestones along the way.

Having milestones allows you to establish multiple opportunities to achieve wins. After you achieve a milestone in your plan, celebrate and use that energy to strengthen your confidence and move you toward achieving the next milestone.

Remember: being confident during challenging times doesn’t mean you have all of the answers; it means that you are able to stand confidently in what you know and you are willing to work hard to figure out and drive solutions.

Be Courageous?

One of the top intrapersonal challenges that people deal with is fear. It’s the fear of the unknown, the fear of the known, and the fear of making a decision that leads to an unfavorable outcome.?

The energy behind fear can be catastrophic to you, your employees, and others.?

I am reminded of Zola, a Fortune 500 sales leader who was dealing with a lot of change in the business and a bleak forecast for the upcoming fiscal year.?

Zola’s fearful energy adversely?impacted?her relationship with her employees and caused confusion with her colleagues and partners.??

Zola sought coaching and realized that she was so fixated on what could go wrong that she never imagined what could go right, which led to inaction.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said,

“Courage is the inner resolution to move forward despite obstacles.”?

Taking a page from Dr. King, it’s so important to move forward with actions but do so by adopting a growth mindset to ignite your courage. A growth mindset enables you to move forward with ease. If you fall, focus on what you learned, make necessary adjustments to your plan and keep moving forward.?

While adopting a growth mindset can support you in being more courageous, it doesn’t mean that your fear is automatically zapped. It could still be there, but you make an intentional decision to move forward anyway using a growth mindset.

Exercise Compassion

During the coronavirus pandemic, never had I seen such tremendous compassion exuded across the world. For the first time, it really felt like people were seeing each other for their humanity.

As a leader during times of great challenge, it is incredibly important to focus on who your employees are, their stories now and in the past, and what they need to support their overall mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

I know you may be thinking, "How do I have time for that touchy-feely stuff when I am trying to keep the business moving forward and my employees gainfully employed?"

Remember, your employees are not machines, they are dynamic humans with feelings and stories. It’s the right thing to show compassion toward your employees. Compassion could show up differently, depending on the employee and situation. I had a leader share that her employees had varied needs during the pandemic.

The leader compassionately met each employee where they were. Some employees wanted the leader to listen to them, while others wanted to be left alone. Consider ways you can express compassion to your employees and others in your sphere of influence without intruding upon their privacy.

Also, don’t forget about yourself. As a leader, you carry a lot on your shoulders; remember that you can’t give what you don’t have. Seek ways to give yourself the gift of self-compassion as you navigate challenges. Examples include:

• being kind to yourself,
• engaging in self-care activities that energize you, and
• practicing mindfulness.

Thank you for reading this edition of the Driven to Thrive newsletter!

This will be the last edition for 2022 as I will be taking time off to recharge and enjoy the holiday season with my family! I hope you give yourself the gift of time, too. I look forward to reconnecting with you in the new year!

Here are some ways to access additional tools, advice, and tips to accelerate your leadership & career:

→ Join the first 2023 cohort for my?DRIVEN Career Map Program,?a professional development program designed to?enable?and?empower?you in navigating your career with purpose, passion, and peace of mind:

→ Review the numerous career-enhancing resources available on my website at?aliciadreece.com.?

→?Follow me on LinkedIn, and click the ?? at the top of my profile page to learn more about Drive to Thrive events and join the conversation on my posts.?

→?Subscribe?to receive my bi-weekly Driven to Thrive newsletters.?

→?Enroll in one of my LinkedIn Learning courses:?Coaching Yourself to Career Success?and/or?Using Personal Authenticity to Drive Career Success

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