Be Different or be dead

January 4, 2016

6 things great leaders do when the unexpected strikes

Source: Pexels

6 things great leaders do when the unexpected strikes .

Perhaps not rhe most elegant and acceptable way to describe an unexpected random event that rocks our world, but one that my Dad used regularly. He was fond of counselling me to always be prepared to meet the forces you don’t expect. He was a great advisor and friend; I miss him.

“Shit” always happens. Plan “A” rarely is accomplished; unforeseen events hit at the least opportune time.

What defines the stand-out leader from all the rest is how they deal with it.

Stand-out leaders are good at anticipating but are great at responding to the unexpected.

Here’s what they do:

▪️They pause, take a deep breath and ponder the situation before doing anything. Knee-jerk reaction isn’t a productive response.

▪️They get their business plan in front of them. Any action taken needs to be congruent with the long term direction of the organization. You can’t suddenly decide to ‘go north’ in the face of the unexpected if your strategy declares you’re heading ‘slightly west’.

▪️They assemble a dedicated team to create the response action plan. They flatten the organization and temporarily eliminate the normal hierarchy. They take the people who are effective in a crisis, are prepared to act quickly and who have an abundance of new ideas.

▪️They strike a 90-day plan with specific objectives and deliverables defined and individuals assigned to produce them. Short term revenue and customer service metrics are given priority; this is no time to take your eye of financials or customers.

▪️They develop a schedule to meet every 30 days to review progress and take any corrective action required. Given the severity of the situation you might even consider meeting more frequently.

▪️They camp out in the workplace, communicating constantly with employees on actions and progress being made and asking “How can I help?”

Crisis demands a thoughtful disciplined approach survive and be successful.

Stand-out leaders get this.

Cheers,
Roy
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• Posted 1.4.16 at 03:48 am by Roy Osing
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