TPMusings

LEADING IN TURBULENT TIMES

I discovered an interesting article while “cruising the net” to do research on a project over the weekend: “Leading in Turbulent Times” by Bob Prosen (BobProsen.com).  I found it a good “leadership primer” with valid, common sense management tips to address the special problems we all face in running our companies during challenging economic times.  I have excerpted several key points below; a link to the article is at the end.  Read and learn…

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One of a leader's greatest challenges is being at the helm during turbulent times while keeping your employees at the top of their game. As more and more companies enter the global market place, competition, change and uncertainty increase. This is when leaders must lead with confidence, wisdom and courage. If not, your employees may not follow.

…during times of uncertainty, simplify your plan and focus on execution. This means having a small set of quantifiable objectives and timelines to facilitate accountability throughout the organization.

…Establish effective leadership practices and maintain them, and you will find the tough times are not as difficult on you or your employees.

…Be a strong and effective communicator. Frequent and effective communications is the glue that holds the organization together and helps to reduce fear and uncertainty.

Here are some things you can do immediately to successfully lead your team through rough times:

1. Establish no more than five clearly stated and measurable objectives.
2. Identify and remove the roadblocks that hinder your team's performance.
3. Reward your people for results not how hard they work.
4. Don't cut back on rewards and recognition during leaner times. Now more than ever, you need your core team to feel appreciated and important.
5. Be honest and tell your team what's needed to win.
6. Keep your employees well informed to help mitigate fear.
7. Be extremely hard on performance and easy on people.
8. Acknowledge success and reinforce the positive.
9. Maintain the proper balance between passion and optimism with realism and judgment.

Especially during lean times, leaders have to put the "must do's" first and assure that their team is focusing on the things they can personally suspend to free up valuable resources for handling the "must do's".

As Peter Drucker notes, “…the key to leading is to ensure you and your team are on the same page in terms of goals and the actions needed to get them done.”  Here here.  

http://www.refresher.com/abbptimes.html

Print posted @ Wednesday, May 07, 2008 4:58 PM