Are you a leader? Most likely, if you’re honest with yourself, you really don’t know. Because if you have never encountered serious crisis involving yourself and people for whom you are responsible, and come through it with three things intact, you really have no idea if you have what it takes.
- If you have encountered crisis and come through with your integrity intact …
- If you have encountered crisis and come through it with your optimism intact …
- If you have encountered crisis and come through it with your beliefs in worth of people intact …
Then, and only then, do you know you have what it takes to lead.
Now, there are steps you can take to improve the probability that you can cope. And these steps are all attitudinal. They can’t be taught, but they can be “understood.” You begin by understanding yourself and your attitudes. These attitudes are highly interdependent – get one right and it improves the probability that you can/will get others right … don’t buy in to one, and the dominoes can start falling.
Let’s take the self-descriptive attitudes one-at-a-time …
The Buck Stops Here
First, we must believe that the buck stops here. We are primarily responsible for our past and our future. We must embrace the attitude that the ultimate outcomes of anyone’s life are matters of personal choice. And it’s our thinking that creates pathways to success or failure. By disclaiming responsibility for where we are, we crush the prospect for an incredible future that might have been ours. We chose the route to our present destination.
The responsibility for our current situation is ours. We are where we are because of the way we think. Our thinking dictates our decisions. Decisions are choices. The words, “IT IS NOT MY FAULT” should never come from our lips. Until we take responsibility for where we are, there is no basis for moving on.
The bad news is that the past was in our hands, but the good news is that the future is also in our hands. We must understand that God did not put in us the ability to always make the right decisions. He did, however, put in us the ability to make a decision, and then make it right. The buck stops here.
Sense of Humility
Second, if we’re going to lead the organization through crisis, we must do so with a sense of humility. We do not have all the answers. The word “we” here is the key. Like the old ball coach said, “There is no “I” in team.” Leading through crisis must become a team sport. And leading in this manner requires the following set of beliefs: people are responsible; people are intelligent; people are creative; and people care. If we truly believe these things, sometimes we’re going to be disappointed. Sometimes very disappointed.
But suppose we believe people are irresponsible, stupid, lack creativity, and don’t care. Just think of the systems, structures and processes we will create to act on those beliefs. And we will get: an irresponsible, stupid, uncreative, and noncaring organization. Crisis will sink us. Humility is a force multiplier.
Bias for Action
Third, we must have a bias for action. As Joshua Chamberlin screamed as his troops were being overrun at the Battle of Gettysburg, “Charge!” If, as leaders, we are presented with a choice of doing nothing, or doing something, we should always choose to act. And our actions must be consistent with our principles. We walk the talk. Don’t just stand there, do something!
I often hear people of faith say they are waiting on God when crisis comes. But I am convinced that, in most cases, God is waiting on me. And, importantly, humility and action are complimentary, not conflicting.
Sense of Confidence
Fourth, a sense of confidence is also a force multiplier. Where we are and how we got here is not nearly as important as where we’re going. Most leaders fail in crisis because of a lack of confidence. And if I am afraid of criticism, I will live out my days as an ineffective leader.
As Henry Ford is credited with saying, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right!” If we are presented with a challenge, we search for a solution. A leader who lacks confidence will search for an escape. A leader of confidence never waits for conditions to be exactly right. Why? Because conditions will never be exactly right. Indecision limits the degrees of freedom in crisis.
Strong Sense of Gratitude
Fifth, our attitude must communicate a strong sense of gratitude! Of happiness. We are fashioned by choice. First, we make choices, then our choices make us. Happiness is a choice. As leaders in crisis, we model that life itself is a privilege and seek to live life to the fullest. Well, that is a choice. Gratitude is a choice.
We have used the phrase “force multiplier” here … and this is the ultimate force multiplier. In 1959, Truett Cathy was simultaneously faced with a restaurant burning down and diagnosed with cancer. But he never lost that sense of gratitude for the gifts and blessings that God had given him – even though he didn’t deserve it. Right, humility.
Forgiveness
Finally, we must possess an attitude of forgiveness. We said these attitudes are highly interdependent. Get one right, and it will improve the probability you’ll get another right. Screw one up, and the dominoes can start falling. An attitude of forgiveness ties it all together.
Leadership is tested by crisis. Leadership is tested by forgiveness. I, like many of you, play around with AI. Not to long ago, I went onto Chat GPT and got it to help me write a poem about forgiveness. So, I will claim joint ownership of the following…
In the quiet hours before dawn’s first light,
I sit alone, enveloped by the night.
Memories like shadows, haunting my mind.
Regrets and mistakes, cruel and unkind.
But in this solitude, a whisper of grace,
A gentle reminder, a soft embrace.
For in forgiving others, I’ve learned the art,
Of granting myself a brand-new start.
No longer chained by the past’s heavy weight,
I rise with courage, embrace my fate.
For every stumble, every fall,
Is but a step in life’s grand call.
So I release the burdens I’ve carried long,
And fill my heart with a healing song.
For in forgiving myself, I find release,
And in embracing love, I find my peace.
So…are you a leader?
This week’s Leadership and Main post was written by Guest Blogger Dr. George Manners who is a Professor Emeritus of Accounting and Management with Kennesaw State University. His superpowers include wisdom, the ability to be a life-long learner, and simply being a quality human being. We at Leadership and Main are grateful for his contributions to this project.