Resisting the Mood of Doom
A
Leadership Message for Challenging
Times
What can we do?
The mood of doom and gloom these days is
pervasive. At business conferences, budget meetings
of local governments, non-profit board meetings, in
shops and offices of business owners, the impact of
the economic downturn weighs on everyone’s
mind.
What can we do?
The problems are real, and for many people the times
are disastrous. Those not facing disaster still must
contend with reduced net worth and erosion of a sense
of security.
In challenging times, leaders must address a core
question in the minds of everyone: What can we
do?
Leaders who step up and address this question help
build resilience in their followers. The priority in
addressing this question is on actions people can
take, with emphasis on we, i.e. that actions apply
collectively to leaders as well as
followers.
In addressing the question, leaders must above all
set an emotional tone that will contribute to
successful navigation through stormy waters. Emotions
amplify our ability to think and act, both positively
and negatively. In challenging times, what we don’t
need to do is amplify our problems. Unchecked gloom
will not only make the situation feel worse but
undermine our capacity to respond. It’s incumbent for
leaders to build resistance to the mood of doom and
gloom.
In my role as mayor, I included the following seven
actions that we could do as individuals and as a
community in my annual state of the town address.
While originally addressed to our small town, no
doubt they will also apply to your organization,
business, and personal life.
What can we do? We can...
- Master Our Attitude
- Face Reality While
Keeping Faith
- Stick to Our
Knitting
- Seek and Seize
Opportunities
- Focus on Action
Within Our Control
- Work
Together
- Live With Renewed
Intention
To read or download the full article, or
listen to the podcast, click links below:
Play Well
to Excel
People Skills Still
Rule
Hands down, people competency is the most
distinguishing feature of top
performers.
By ‘people competency” I mean emotional
intelligence, interpersonal effectiveness, and team
related skills - in short, playing well with
others.
Technical competence is a threshold requirement for
excellence, but typically won’t differentiate top
from average performers.A study at Bell Labs found
all their engineers performed their
engineering functions the same way. What
differentiated top engineers from the average? Top
performers created relationships that measurably
contributed to effectiveness, e.g. top performers
had telephone calls returned in an average of 20
minutes, compared to 4 hours for less stellar
peers...
To read or download the full article, or
listen to the podcast, click links below:
Leadership
Quotes
You must never confuse
faith that you will prevail in the end—which
you can never afford to lose—with the
discipline to confront the most brutal facts of
your current reality, whatever they might be.
~ Admiral Jim Stockdale
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist
in nature.... Life is either a daring adventure or
nothing.
~ Helen Keller
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Change...
What can a 70 year
old movie reveal about leadership?
The
Power of Nice
How to Conquer the
Business World with Kindness
Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval (2006)
"Nice is the toughest four letter word you'll
ever hear." Or so the authors tell us in this small
volume. We reminded that nice does not mean
Pollyanna, passive, or wimpy. Nice brings business
success.
I acquired this book from the authors following an
excellent presentation at the National Speakers
Association National Conference. The book is short,
easy to read in one sitting (or on a plane trip), and
anecdotal. There are plenty of stories and examples
to illustrate the author’s points. We are reminded to
be respectful, empathetic, and upbeat to everyone,
not simply to people who can immediately benefit us.
Be nice to everybody, because you never know...is
certainly not a bad strategy to go about life. There
are plenty of other tips offered - “nice” is too
narrow concept for the broad interpersonal best
practices covered in this book.
Anyone reasonably well-read in business literature
won’t find much unexpected or particularly new. That
being said, it's a nice book, a pleasant read,
providing reminders of things we need to hear no
matter how sophisticated a leader or professional we
may be. Jay Leno does the forward - how nice is
that!
About THINK!
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