Great Leader Crisis or Opportunity?
We’ve all had great leader enough of crisis! And, each crisis we face can certainly condition you into a mindset that you expect the next crisis! We all have choices and it’s in the moments of decision that better outcomes can occur, so consider how you can look for opportunities. Great leaders are born through adversity and crises and you can be one of these. When you make that decision to see opportunity and look back in time, you will be glad you made that choice!
“Sunrise doesn’t last all morning.” Change happens. Prepare for it” – George Harrison song
ASK where the Opportunity is!
In Psychology Today, Davia Sills shows how to “Turn crisis into opportunity.” Crises come into our lives, no matter how we may try to avoid them. They are troubling, unwanted experiences or events that take us way out of our comfort zone. Typically, crises result in some type of loss. The very nature of a crisis is antithetical to our core values of certainty and predictability as they vanish in an instant. We desperately try to restore order to our lives, as chaos seems to prevail. Yet, if we learn to reframe how we see crisis, we might actually take advantage of it. There is the potential for alchemy as the crisis unfolds into a gain, provided we learn to stop resisting the unwanted change.
The crisis may be of a financial, relationship, health, or spiritual nature. Those crises that are internally driven tend to be relational, psychological, or emotional. Ordinarily, we try to avoid these upsets as best we can. Yet, upheavals are at times levelled upon us and may not be of our making. We may feel like victims of the circumstances, as we struggle to hold on to life as we knew it.
Typically, personal change requires our motivation and intention to serve as the catalyst to power the transition. Crisis, on the other hand, removes the self-motivating requirement as it places us squarely outside of our familiar zone. The crisis literally removes the boundaries that have circumscribed us. It is as if a tornado has swept in, and when we open our eyes, everything has changed. The maelstrom places us well beyond the bounds of the known. We typically find ourselves wanting desperately to get back inside the comfort of the known. But the crisis precludes that option. There is no going back. But that is where the opportunity lies and here’s what you can do:
- Break Free. The crisis is but a snapshot of a moment in time, and one we’d prefer to avoid. But to achieve self-empowerment requires looking beyond that snapshot and envisioning what door of potential has just flung open. Crisis and opportunity are merely different aspects of the process.
- Illuminate Crisis. Crises tend to present themselves as either acute or chronic circumstances. Learning to look at the larger themes and patterns that set up these challenges will help develop a vantage point from which you may break through the struggle. In other words, what are the recurring stories of your life? What is your participation in this storyline?
- Ask Where Is the Opportunity? Do we gaze into the unfolding potential of change, or do we focus on the loss of the familiar? Your answer reveals your relationship between loss and opportunity. Ultimately the question is whether we choose to freeze in the panic of the unfamiliar or we seek to opportunize the new territory that’s unfolding for us. The only constant in the universe is flow. What we call crisis is simply the occurrence of change. We are not the masters of change, and if we release our need to control it, we can ride the waves of change and often turn it into opportunity.
7 NEW WAYS
In Forbes, Keven Leves identifies “7 Ways to Turn Crisis into Opportunity.” If we try to define the situation the world is going through as a result of the COVID-19 in one word, it would undoubtedly be “change.” Society as we knew it will not exist after the pandemic, which may cause great uncertainty. However, every change represents a new beginning, which translates into the opportunity to start again on the same or a different path, but with more experience. It is at this point, where all aspects of our lives seem to be disrupted, that we can focus on starting a new cycle. For the entrepreneur, it is no different.
Starting a business after this pandemic will be a challenge, due to the economic recession. However, maintaining perception and values in a new business opportunity is vital. While this unusual situation has had a strong impact on the world economy, it is important to reflect on the opportunities that may arise to help improve economic stability. But is it possible to move from crisis to opportunity? How can this be done? Let’s look at elements that help you overcome a moment of adversity and become a leader:
- Keep The Focus
- Discover The Power Of Vision
- Learn To Unlearn
- Take Advantage Of The Breaks
- Innovate To Grow
- Practice Solidarity
- Expand Your Comfort Zone
How we react to this crisis will not only speak volumes about our personalities but will also allow us to evaluate the possibilities of starting a new process once the pandemic is over.
In Times of Crisis, Great Leaders Are Needed
In my blog “Leadership through Crisis,” I ask the question, when faced when a crisis – how do you lead? My mantra during this time is “Crisis can lead to growth and opportunity, stuff-up’s can lead to resilience and lessons, and purpose and vision can withhold any challenges.”
Here are my top ten ways to lead through a crisis:–
- You must align expectations
- Focus on more of what makes you who you are
- Demonstrate on positive energy and actions
- Be authentic and tell the truth
- Remember and know what you stand for
- Always demonstrate kindness and empathy
- You must remember and see the big picture
- Please stay calm and courageous
- Have a flexible and focused plan
- Leaders must simply lead
Nothing prepares you to lead when faced with a crisis. Like I always say, “Leadership is not just a title or a role, it’s an attitude and a mindset.” What I have seen is a number of people who have been incredible leaders during this crisis who don’t have the title of leader. Leadership, courage and performance under stress can show how level-headed a person is, or on the contrary, it can show where their weaknesses lie. It is important that you always keep your wits about you and stay cool in challenging situations. In turn the importance of emotional intelligence and resilience are critical in times where we need to show great courage. These are the a few key things that every courageous leader does in times of crisis, and traits you should always keep in mind when running a business:
- Honesty and Transparency
- Not letting emotions get in the way
- Being truly brave and facing fears
- Being accountable for victories and losses
- Not taking failures personally
- Possessing positive attitudes from start to finish
People need courageous leaders in order to feel there’s someone to make the tough calls and to take responsibility for them – they need to know that the buck truly does stop with the leader. With a courageous leader, people feel protected – not that they’re helpless, but they know the person in charge really has their back. Empathy, courage, decisiveness and the willingness to take action, no matter how hard it may be, are the leadership qualities needed to rise above the chaos and crisis when things seem uncertain and impossible.
YOU CAN BE A GREAT LEADER
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Stay Kind. Stay Courageous.
Sonia x
