Leadership

Back in the 90s when I had an entertainment business I received a powerful lesson in how to be a strong leader. I was taught never run but walk quickly when there was a problem or crisis. It was during a large event of about 1000 people when one of the performers was standing behind a lit screen and everyone could see their shadow. Hardly a crisis I admit but one that gave me a valuable lesson in leadership. Seeing the shadow, I started running towards the stage to tell the performer move, when my producer at the time quietly said to me, ‘don’t run, walk quickly’. Running (or panicking) does three things.

1. As you run you are in danger of tripping and causing more havoc.
2. People will notice you running and assume something is up and panic results.
3. Your decision-making process goes south as your knee-jerk reaction cuts in.

Good advice. Especially now.

As the impact of Coronavirus takes hold ask yourself if you or your leaders running or walking quickly? Not literally of course but metaphorically.

Strong Leaders are adaptive while staying the course

An attribute of strong leaders is adaptability. I like the way Jay A Conger (2004) puts it when he talks about ‘Chameleon Leadership’. The next 6 to 12 months will test the ability of businesses and their leaders to adapt to change and deal with the impact of the Corona crisis, while still maintaining course. That requires taking decisive action in a calm and non-emotional way. It requires good communication, so everyone knows what expect (well… as best as possible) and what steps have been put in place.

Strong leaders are consistent communicators

Your team needs to feel safe and certain that you as a leader are not panicking yet, at the same time, not deflecting a crisis. They need to know what the plan of action is, and they need to know that things could change at any moment. They also need to feel they have a say, that they are contributing, and they need to know that the little things they do, which to them may seem unimportant, will make a big difference. A strong leader addresses these.

If a leader runs, they will not just panic their staff and their clients, but they risk making bad decisions.  As my manager, Simone Ashton’s partner put it (who is ex-defence force) ‘officers don’t run, it panics the troops’.

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I remember rocking up to my dad’s office as a young kid during school holidays and asking to see his films. He didn’t work in the film business; he was in advertising. His secretary (I don’t think they had executive assistants back then) would amuse me by setting up a 16mm projector in a spare room and bringing out a pile of Dad’s advertisements. I would sit there for hours, just watching the ads and promo reels, playing them again and again and again.

I used to love the sound the film made when it was running through the sprockets, seeing the light glow in the projector and how the dust would flitter and play in its beam. Sometimes, just for kicks, I would play the films backwards. Very cool. My dad never said no to me watching his films. He was never too busy to bring a projector home to set up in the living room.

Great leaders are supportive

A few years later, when I was a teenager, he set up a meeting with a family friend who was a film producer, to chat with me about a career in the film business. That led to me getting work on TV and film.

Around the same time, my mother owned an art gallery, so much of my teenage years were surrounded by people who appreciated self-starters, entrepreneurs and successful business people. People who also managed to make a living, and some of them very good livings, from their ideas and their creativity, (at 80 my Mother still painted). People who understood that success takes both passion and good business skill and that it doesn’t happen immediately but takes effort and time. That it’s a game of inches on all levels.

Great Leaders have influence

I am incredibly grateful that people who were supportive and open to entrepreneurial endeavours surrounded me in my youth. People who didn’t judge, mock, or try to interfere, but instead mentored, guided, and led by example. Just being who they were and doing what they did was an enormous influence.

There lies a great lesson. I learned at a very early age, without even knowing it, that we each hold an immense power of influence over other people and that we can either draw the very best out of them or shut them down. We can inspire people to be their best or we can point them to mediocrity – without even knowing we’re doing it. We can also inspire ourselves to be our best or we can point ourselves to mediocrity – without even knowing we’re doing it

We can be superheroes or villains. A great leader knows that the first choice is a nobler one. Inspiring people to be their best is a much better pursuit.

To find out more about how Nigel can help your leaders be superheroes with his leadership presentations.

Others articles on leadership include ‘Change management requires ownership, not buy-in’ and ‘How do I foster an innovation culture in my team?‘