|
|
 |
Kelvin A. Redd is the Associate Director of the Center for Servant Leadership at the Pastoral Institute in Columbus, Georgia.
|
|
|
2022 Fifteenth Avenue
Columbus, GA 31901
706-649-6380
706-649-6381 fax
sl@pilink.org
www.pilink.org
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Over the next couple of months Servant Leadership Today
will be devoted to leading in tough times. On October 16 we will conduct a
workshop, Servant Leadership in Turbulent Times, that will be open to the
public. We will culminate this series with our annual Servant Leadership
Conference on Friday, November 7 at the Columbus Convention and Trade
Center. This year's speakers will
be Lieutenant General William B. Caldwell, IV and his wife Reverend Stephanie Caldwell. I
cannot think of better people or representatives to speak at this year's
conference.
We hope to see you there!
Kelvin A. Redd
|
 |
Leading in Tough Times
|
"Nothing in the world can take the
place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful
men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and
determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan, 'Press on,' has solved and
always will solve the problems of the human race."
We all have our tough times. For some people, a tough time
is trying to make both ends meet and put food on the table or trying to find
transportation to work. Tough times in the workplace can mean many different
things. It may be dealing with a difficult work environment, trying to pass a
test, poor sales results or a challenging project. It doesn't always help
matters when you watch the news channels. This summer the airwaves have been
saturated with negativity. From the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan,
the rising cost of gasoline prices, to the poor state of our economy. This is
the situation in which we find ourselves. However, how you handle your tough
times says a lot about the outcome you will have.
The following are eight ways to lead yourself and your
employees through tough times:
Acknowledge the
situation. The first thing you must do is acknowledge the situation at
hand. Don't run from it and don't play the blame game. When you start blaming
your competitors or the economy or whatever, you are giving yourself and your
employees an unrealistic way out. Ok, so your sales are down. What are you
going to do about it? Having problems passing the test? What are you going to
do about it?
Hold the Vision.
Former Chairman and CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch, once said, "Good
business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the
vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion." Obviously, you do not want to
overreact, but this is not the time to be passive. When the going gets tough,
the leader holds the vision.
Courage. In the
book, A Leader's Legacy, authors Kouzes and Posner say, "Courage is about
making tough choices, but those choices more often than not involve the little
things we do. Do I say yes or do I say no? Do I stay or do I leave? Do I speak
or do I stay silent? None of these choices on the surface feels particularly
frightening, but in the proper context they can be terrifyingly difficult. It's
not for anyone else to decide whether someone's act is courageous or not.
Ultimately what takes courage and what does not is a very personal decision."
Know Yourself. Do
you have the talent to do the job that you have been entrusted to do? It is far
easier to manage a situation when you have the talent do so. It is when you do
not have the talent for a job that the situation can become very challenging.
Any coach in any sport in America
will tell you that you cannot win without talent.
Listen. Seek wise
counsel and listen to them. There are people in your midst that can help you.
However, sometimes it is hard to listen to someone when your mind is in a fog.
Who are the people you are listening to?
Teamwork. There
is a high probability that you cannot make it through your tough times alone.
Surround yourself with good people - people who have your best interest at heart.
My favorite verse in the Bible is Proverbs 13:20 which says, "He who walks with
wise men shall be wise but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." Who are
your wise men?
Think Positive.
This is not the time to have a pity party. Try your best to avoid anything and
everything that places in you a negative state of mind. One local executive
even told me that he doesn't watch the news because of what "it" does to him.
Remain Calm. Be
still. There is nothing worse than a leader who runs around like a chicken with
its head cut off shouting, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" Your calmness may instill confidence and
clearer thinking in all those working toward a solution.
How you lead through the current state of the world is
significant. In order to be well positioned for the future, you first have to
get through the present. Weathering tough times requires a keen sense of what
obstacles and opportunities lay ahead. I hope these key points to leading in
tough times are helpful.
|
|
|
Servant Leadership in Turbulent Times
|
It's easy being a leader during the good times, when profits are up, performance is good, the bright lights are on and the team is winning. But what do you do during the tough times? Read more |
|
|
|
|
|
