Leadership: in a world of lies and uncertainty

Published: 2012-01-27   please add a comment below

The developed world is mired in debt. In 2008, it was on corporate balance sheets. Today it’s in the hands of governments. And that’s a critical shift. As Dan McCrum of the Financial Times points out*, businesses are “incentivised by laws and penalties to tell the truth” in their quarterly and other reporting. But, “politicians won’t”! For him, this makes the immediate future dangerous – and investors should prepare to “minimise losses in a variety of extreme events.” For me, this advice applies equally to leaders. So, here are seven actions for you to consider.

1. Revisit purpose: refresh the rationale that drives your business or area. What do you offer the world; and, your people. Encouraging outsiders to value what you do and your team to have pride in it. Tough times need everyone on board – fully motivated.
2. Define goals: ensure everyone knows what the business and its teams are expected to achieve. What does success look like? Not woolly outcomes but quantified and measurable. Do people know the metrics that apply to them individually and their department?
3. Manage risk: analyse each business segment to diagnose what might go wrong. Start with your assumptions. In a crisis, old ones are often overturned. Will the market continue to operate as previously? If not, how? What else will change and in what way?
4. Hold values: even in bad times, these must underpin your behaviour – particularly in making and executing tough decisions. If you want people to remain aligned and energised, they have to trust you and the way you operate – and, from this, the culture you create.
5. Communicate: unlike politicians, of whom McCrum is so sceptical, you must keep everyone aware of what’s really happening: the needed changes and, above all, why these justify their effort and commitment. There’s no point in the items above if no one knows about them.
6. Invest in people: you won’t have the resources for lots of the old programs but there’s much possible at little cost – bringing people together to share ideas and learn from each other, to access public training material or tap into your experience!
7. Act as ambassador: being visible. Your load will be huge as always in such times. But, your presence and attitude can be key motivators: reassuring people there’s a future worth fighting for and that you have a strategy, a plan and, above all, the determination to win.

If we’re lucky the doomsayers may be wrong about the demise of the Euro zone and the rapid decline of the US or equally the stalling of India and China. However, it’s clear we face years, possibly a decade, of working our way out of the current mess we’ve created – through living beyond our means whether as individuals, families or governments.

If you want a plan that sets new goals to align your people and lift their sights, then click here – it’s FREE this week.

* http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/5f567b8e-2b28-11e1-9fd0-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1gx1heJLc

Dr. Timothy Pascoe AM
PhD (Cambridge), MBA (Harvard), BE & BEc (Adelaide)
Creator, V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership^®