I have owned and ran many businesses, so I’ve been through my share of hard times. Maybe you aren’t able to make ends meet, there’s been large employee turnover, or bad news hits the business. You have to step up and show strong leadership.
When we talk about leadership, we often do it in a way that is appealing to people. They want to grow and develop other people, and they want to be in charge. What we fail to speak on, I think, is the particular struggles leaders go through. I want today’s blog post to be a guide for those leaders who may be experiencing a hard time in their business.
How to Show Strong Leadership during Difficult Times
Be Prepared
I talk about this in my book, Leadership Mastery, and I’ve mentioned it in some blogs before, too. I truly believe the key to finding favor in your business and in your life is by being prepared. You may enter the company as a leader when times are good, but you can count on the fact that you will run into hard times. What will you rely on when that happens? What resources will you have planted in the good times to be able to reap in the difficult ones?
I encourage you to create an emergency plan just in case things take a turn for the worse. Though you won’t be able to predict everything that might happen, having a plan will definitely help.
Remember Your Mission
It can be hard to remember why you started your business when you are constantly just trying to put out fires. That mission, though, is what will keep you going when you think you have nothing left. You knew it was going to be hard when you started, but you chose to build a business in spite of that because you believed what you were building was greater than the cost it might take.
Do you have a journal entry from that time or a vision board that you can reflect on? If you are having trouble feeling your mission, go back to a time when you wished to have what you have now.
Be Present
Nothing is more nervewracking for employees than the disappearance of their leader. People are smart, and they can tell when something is going wrong. As a leader, it is your job to boost the morale of your employees at all times. You need to be the person that is reassuring them and encouraging them.
Communication can often break down during times of crisis, so do your best to communicate often and effectively. If you have stakeholders, you need to be present in those meetings as well. That sounds like a lot of pressure for a leader, and it is. Leadership is hard, but it is worth it.
Have you ever led through a time of crisis? What did you find effective? Let me know in the comments! Stay tuned for more posts on leadership in the coming weeks, and be sure to pre-order my new book, Leadership Mastery on Amazon through this link.
