Leadership of Self and Others in Crisis

More than 370 people have lost their lives, many lost their belongings, businesses are closed. This is the result of the flooding in Thailand as of today. When I was out of town last week I felt reminded of Kevin Kostner’s Waterworld: water everywhere! Never have I seen anything like that before.

My girlfriend’s house is about 1 m under water, and even though I still have dry feet, I have not been able to buy bottled water for a week, and customers cancel participation in my live events.

There is an enormous nervousness out there: “Can this bloody flood come now! I’m sick and tired waiting for the flood to come or maybe not to come or not here or maybe later or somewhere else or …” as someone posted on Facebook.

The situation is disastrous, no doubt. But does it help to be nervous? As the saying goes, you cannot prevent the pain, but suffering is optional. Here’s how to lead yourself and others through crisis:

1. You cannot control the events in your life. But you can control how you respond to them.

You cannot prevent flooding, earthquakes, or the loss of a loved one. You and only you decide though what you do in an extreme situation.

Whereas it is normal to be sad or to worry when things are not going as planned in your life or your business, you have to accept worrying does not help.

For any dramatic situation in life or business I have learned the two most empowering questions:

- What can I learn from this?

- How can I turn this around?

2. Focus on the solution, not the problem

Focusing on the problem does not get you anywhere. It will just lead to more negative emotions and limit your ability to plan intelligently. Moreover, whatever you focus on, you get more of: focus on a problem, you’ll get more problems. Focus on solutions, and you will find solutions.

Accept that you are in charge of your mind no matter what happens around you. The above mentioned questions are extremely powerful to help you focus on solving problems. The more options you create, the easier it will be for you to find a feasible way forward.

You can deal with any situation if you decide to, can’t you.

3. Be a role model and lead your team

If you are a manager or a business leader, you have a huge influence on how your team will deal with challenging situations. In times of crisis, people look up to a leader. They look for someone great who they can follow. Be this person.

In order to lead them, you have to lead yourself first and not give in to your worries and negative emotions. Create empowering beliefs, self-confidence, and know that you can handle the situation.

Go out there, let your team see and feel your confidence. Then instill this confidence in your team by teaching them how to apply the rules above. This will help you and your team to get where you want to be.

 

If you would like to have my support in helping you and your team through crisis, contact me now:

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