4 key steps for leaders to function effectively in crisis
The last few weeks I’ve been filling out the Personal Credo Journal using Dr. Jim Loehr’s insightful book, Leading with Character.
He’s a respected performance psychologist and has worked with 17 of the worlds #1 athletes, (and hundreds more). His interview on Tim Ferriss’ podcast is an inspiring lesson on the importance of character in leadership. In Dr. Loehr’s words: “Moral Character is the ability to step up and do something according to what your beliefs are, even though you know there could be a really big cost to you if you do it.”
The discussion revealed that what someone achieves is not as important to their life satisfaction as how they achieved it. If these top performers lied, cheated, stole or step over bodies to get to first place, the win was less enjoyable. If their path was not inline with who they wanted to be, or who they thought they were – they were miserable, no matter how many times they hit gold.
When Dr. Loehr asked high achievers to pick six words most representative of themselves at their absolute best, when they were most proud of themselves, no matter what group or how many accomplishments, after about 5 minutes, everyone’s list was nearly identical:
“noticeably absent from the list were the things that people often feel like they’re chasing: I feel like I’m at my best when I’m winning, when I’m making a lot of money, when I’m winning titles, when I am finishing a great paper that just got accepted by a peer-reviewed group in some journal, on and on and on. No one ever mentioned those things. They would mention things like when I’m 100 percent there, fully engaged with others, when I’m trustworthy, when I’m compassionate, when I’m kind. And there was no prompting, nothing. But they went almost immediately to this moral and ethical category for determining who they were at their best.”
When we take time to review, question, and example our deepest moral values, difficult choices- even in times of crisis - become easier to make. Leadership is the same. Looking at this recent post from McKinsey, their research in business leadership is reaching similar conclusions. When you are mindful of your purpose and your beliefs and who you want to be, your reaction in crisis improves.
Four Key Elements for a Leader to function at their best, even while in a crisis:
Priorities
Know your purpose and personal aspirations
Know what and who is important to you (values, principles to live by, family, career)
Roles
Understand how you want to be and where to hold your focus in your role as a leader at work, home, in your community and among your friends and peers.
Use your leverage and orchestration to find solutions
Inspire others by leading with confidence, compassion and consistency.
Time
Be present. Schedule time to be mindful.
Be efficient – know how to manage your workflow and assess priorities.
Think long-term –protect your time and energy for long-term needs and critical priorities
Energy
Be self-aware. Know what adds meaning to your life and what gives you energy.
Practice habits that help you be your best: sleep, meditation, nutrition, space for renewal, emotional connection.
Know your purpose. Create meaning in your actions and your life by knowing what’s important.
As leaders, it’s important we’re also working on and measuring ourselves on both our ability to perform and achieve, but we also have to understand how the choices we make impact our moral and ethical character.
What is success to you? Who do you want to be when you’re sitting at the top? When you describe your role in a crisis in 5 years from now – how do you want to be remembered in that moment? What about when you look at your legacy?
By taking time to understand yourself, you can assess and make decisions in a crisis in much clearer, thoughtful and impactful way.