Navigating crisis: how to be a good leader at a tipping point

From time to time, it feels more difficult to demonstrate achievement, in a world highly affected by anxiety and stress. ?Many people are experiencing the negative effects of outside distractions and pressures on their capacity to complete tasks and reach professional and corporate objectives. As a CEO, I have often found myself dealing with rather difficult situations and, while there is no secret recipe on how to be a good leader in such moments, I will share some of the lessons I have learned the hard way – through my personal experience.

1. Stay true to yourself and to those around you

Before assuming a leadership role, you must first consider who you are and be comfortable with yourself in terms of how you act, what you do, and what you think. This will be of extreme use in points of turmoil. Your co-workers and partners do not expect you to be solid as a rock and unmovable by any crisis but seeing your authentic self will be more reassuring than any void promise. Be honest, communicate openly, and together you will find a solution.

2. Your team is your anchor

Moving to the second piece of advice, it is important to always know that you have an anchor that can help you get back on track. As a leader, you often are a pillar of support for the people in your team, but it is important to know that this relationship goes both ways. Your team is your support system, and they will stick with you through thick and thin, so do not fear to show any sign of vulnerability – you are still human.

3.?Explore and exploit – be ambidextrous

Now that you are mentally ready to face the crisis, it is time to take action! You know who you are, you know you can base on your colleagues, and you know what to do. It is rather interesting that most of the innovative practices are results of turmoil scenarios, but there is a strong reason why this is happening.

The first thing you need to do is to exploit – know what your team and organization masters and make sure to put this in the spotlight from the time being. Whether we deal with an unsuccessful product launch, an internal conflict, or even an economic crisis, doing more of what you are already good at will bring you positive results on the short run. At the same time, give yourself freedom to explore – the organization is under a lot of pressure already, so let’s channel all this clout into a more creative energy.

I hope that you will be faced as little as possible with crisis situations in your leadership experience, yet shall you ever find yourself in this scenario, I am happy to share my way of doing things to lean on. In which other manners did you navigate crisis up until now?

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