Using Crisis As A Channel For Professional Growth

We all occasionally have to deliver terrible news to our stakeholders, supervisors, clients, investors, or whichever audience we ultimately answer to. This advice to young employees is valid as it was, is, and always will be: the earlier you can identify possible problems and alert your boss to them, the greater the likelihood that you can stop them from becoming bigger problems.?

However we are all aware that this is not always possible. When the chance to stop an issue in its tracks has long since passed, what should you do? In circumstances like this, when there are no longer any simple solutions, the great communicators stand out from the crowd.

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Backing up for a moment, there are essentially two types of bad news:?

1) The Unexpected Shock?

It's too late to begin preparing for the worst when a problem completely catches you and your team off guard. It doesn't matter right now if you should have seen it coming or if you could never have predicted it. You need to deal with the issue immediately because it is already here.

2) The Soothsayer Of Doom?

Although you see warning signals, the storm has not yet materialized. Depending on the circumstances, the issue may arise soon or in the distant future. Yet, you still have some time to summon your team in order to make a decision regarding how to react and regardless of whether you are concerned about a significant client not renewing next month or a project that lacks all the tools stakeholders require, you’ve still got some time to bring people in and decide how to tackle it.?

The real truth is the more experience you have, the more adept you'll be at spotting issues from a distance and taking early corrective action. But, abrupt shocks can never be completely eliminated because they are a part of life in general and business in particular. You must hone your abilities to deal graciously with the unexpected. The best opportunities to show leadership at a young age are during crises, therefore learning this skill early in your career will be quite advantageous.

I refer to crises as the "gateway to leadership" because, by handling a challenging circumstance well, a relatively unknown person can significantly increase their status in a business practically overnight. Because everyone seeks to tackle major issues, crises have a way of flattening hierarchies and people always look to anyone who can solve big problems.?

And because you never know when you'll be called off the bench and thrown into the spotlight when the stakes are high, developing specific skills early can really pay dividends.