Global Economic Crisis

Our current global economic crisis has leaders at all levels—from heads of firms to heads of families—asking what they should do to lead in these difficult times.   We can learn from people for whom crisis conditions and dangerous contexts are a characteristic of their employment.   Lessons from professional in extremis leaders transfer nicely to leading to the bottom of the economy, and beyond.

1. Competence is the basis for trust and loyalty in crisis.  In serious economic crisis, expect that trust and loyalty based on pleasant social interaction takes a back seat to raw competence and capability.  Now is the time to use all your ability—don’t ask people to trust you because you’ve been loyal in the past, or because you’re a nice person.  Tell them to trust you because you know what you’re doing.  When you trust yourself, it’s called confidence, and it makes people trust you even more.
2. Danger is inherently motivating.  People who are fearful about their futures are already motivated by conditions; they need quiet competence, not a cheerleader or an angry boss.   People who are afraid usually prefer clear direction and an unemotional delivery.  Never arouse their fears in hopes of increasing motivation—fear mongering as a form of influence is the height of irresponsibility in a crisis.  If you need to plan through worst case scenarios, keep that among your closest advisors.  The leader’s job in crisis is to portray believable light at the end of an uncertain tunnel.
3. Focus outward, and learn.   Focus on the environment that threatens, and learn about your situation.  Watch enough news to be informed, and stop watching when it inevitably becomes repetitive.  Resist the temptation to focus inward on yourself (leading to emotionality) or to drill into the organization (leading to collective insecurity and panic).  Never finger-point or assign blame during a crisis—it can be viewed as an abdication of personal responsibility, and part of the crisis you’re trying to control.  Accountability can wait.
4. Extreme threat reveals the true character of leaders and followers.  One of the best things about a crisis is that it reveals who people can count on, and who people can’t.  Be the former.
5. Use the life altering character of your role to inspire.  Chances are that the survival of your financial position affects more than your personal well-being.  Leaders in crisis are fate makers in that their work helps determine the destiny of other people.  Inspire yourself and your organization by reminding yourself that you’re not in business solely to profit.
6. Leaders are physical beings .  Work out, drink less, and eat well.  Your physical condition is important in crisis.  Fit leaders are better able to handle stress, and a disciplined lifestyle projects control to those who are gauging the seriousness of the situation from observing your behavior.
7. Sharing risk and misery enhances credibility.   In crisis, people find it difficult to trust a leader who is working from a position of advantage relative to their own.  Highlight the common threat, and the common consequences of failure.
8. The best leaders WANT to be leaders, with passion.  Today a senior employee in an international investment firm called to talk about leadership in the volatile global markets.  Early in the conversation he admitted that, as bad as circumstances were, he was excited to be leading in such turbulent times.  His spirit was infectious.  Little wonder that his organization is among the best of its kind.  One reason you accepted your role as a leader is because you wanted responsibility.  You not only have permission to enjoy the ride—it’s really an obligation.