It doesn’t look like things are going to be getting any easier for leaders this year.
The good news is that this is the time for great leaders to shine.
Like sales where it is rather easy to look like a superstar in a buyer’s market, the same goes for leading when capital is cheap, the business is growing and you can afford the perks to buy culture.
But when the market shifts and margins are tighter it is only the best leaders that will be able to keep their business from financial collapse, maintain a healthy and committed culture and actually emerge with greater strength and momentum than before.
4 Things That All Leaders Should Be Thinking About Over the Next 6-12 Months
How do I know this? We have helped hundreds of CEOs, founders and boards navigate this plateau and crisis for the last 15 years. What we have observed is that there are four things that all leaders should be thinking about in order to navigate this storm over the next 6-12 months.
- Leading in Turbulent Times – first of all, you have to throw away the well-meaning advice from popular leadership blogs and books. Leading in turbulent times takes a different type of leader. In turbulent waters, it is no longer about a 1-3 year plan or even about experimenting with new ideas or setting a clear vision.
Rather in turbulent times, leadership is about absolute focus and alignment on the next 90 days. We call this the 90-day clarity tool where every leader has a clear plan of their objectives and priorities for the next 90 days and no more. The goal is to keep your team laser-focused on the next quarter and eliminate all distractions.
What are your next 90-day priorities? If I asked your team this week question would they have the same answer? Spend some time this week giving this some thought and seeking alignment with your team. - Rethinking the way we work – Covid has changed expectations of work with many team members demanding to work remotely and business leaders giving in due to the fear of losing talent. But is this new way of working actually working for your business? We prefer fully remote or fully in-person teams but there is a way to make hybrid work. It can’t be choose-your-own-adventure.
I believe that businesses that are going to emerge well are those who will be bold as to what they need and then show appreciation to their team members for adapting to these requirements. I am all about flexibility but this doesn’t necessarily mean hybrid work. You have to pick a model that works for you, be bold about the decision and then develop clear rhythms around this. At your next senior leadership meeting, it might be the right opportunity to have a discussion for a frank and honest reflection as to what’s working, what’s not and new ideas for the year ahead. - Getting your next-level leaders thinking strategically – if there is one critical risk to business failure this year it would be this one. When the boat is taking on water, the captain can’t be in the trenches bailing out water. They have to be at the helm looking for land, opportunities and solutions. But you can’t do this if your leaders aren’t holding their own at the operational level. Operational decisions with a business impact of 1-2 months need to stay at the operational level and don’t deserve your attention. Yes, they might fail but they will also learn and figure it out. This is not the time for in-the-trenches leadership.
We need leaders now who can stand back and avoid the anxious pull of busy work. Yes, it is harder and less rewarding in the short term but it is the only way to lead. The priority for this period is to get your team to be ready to take care of the day-to-day so you can focus on the next. Take some time over the next few weeks to do an audit of your work and meetings. What do you need to step away from? - motivating the new era of talent. The fourth thing to be thinking about is motivating the new era of talent. And I’m not just talking about generational differences I mean everyone. Loyalty is a thing of the past and people won’t stay just to be part of something. Leaders need to find the red thread that will unite the team and encourage them to do the hard things and take risks. In a world environment that is fueled by fear, there lies the conundrum. We will talk more about this one in future posts. For now, just focus on the first three.
Takeaway
As a leader, you need to create space to think through these topics critically and strategically. I would encourage you to block off 30 minutes a week over the next 4 weeks to read our blogs where we will dive deeper into each topic and spend some time thinking about these 4 critical areas.
