A decade of stable upswing is coming to an end. Our economy is slipping into an economic slump. Unusual? No, not really. Alternating upturns and downturns are quite normal in the economy. One peculiarity: employees and managers who have entered the workforce in the last 10 years usually have no practical experience of crises. Which management style is needed now and why do crises offer unique opportunities?
All over and done with!
In the face of the impending economic eclipse, all the doubters, fearful of the future and pessimists are now scurrying out of every dark corner onto the stage. For almost 10 years of a good economy, this sentence has been waiting to finally be uttered: “I said it right away: it’s not going to happen!”
A few days ago, I was sitting on the S4 in Munich in the evening and couldn’t help overhearing the conversation between two passengers, a middle-class, middle-aged couple. “It’s all going down the drain anyway. That’s for sure.” summed up the well-groomed gentleman in the hat, and his companion, dressed in a sophisticated country house style, thoughtfully agreed with him. In the seven stops between Marienplatz and Pasing, not one positive point fitted into their exchange of thoughts. It was all over. Was this a burgeoning desire for doom or just a bad habit?
Looking ahead
What must be accepted by the complaining couple has no place in a leadership role: complaining. Those who lead, whether of their own accord or because they have been entrusted to do so, always need to look ahead, to search for solutions, not to bathe in problems. The old adage really applies here: if you constantly think in terms of problems, you will create them.
Transparency and clarity
So would the opposite of complaining be glossing over? No, not at all. Ignorance would be a bad advisor. Accepting the situation, clarity and transparency are the right combination. Checking goals, knowing the framework, bringing the two together, understanding difficulties on the way to the goal as challenges and accepting them with self-confidence – this is precisely the motivating inspiration that teams and individual employees expect from their superiors. And, of course, the mutual trust that characterizes good teams and good companies. Basic tenor: No matter what comes and has to be overcome, we have the skills, the creativity and the courage to manage it.
Guidance from the front
In such situations, we can learn from an organization that, by virtue of its office, is always professionally prepared for crisis situations, difficulties and sometimes seemingly unsolvable problems. It draws on incredibly rich and constantly evolving experience: the military. The guiding principle for dealing with difficult situations there is: leadership from the front. It is a tactical leadership principle that goes hand in hand with the principle of combined arms combat. Today, this principle is – rightly! – is also discussed and applied in the business world.
In the military, leading from the front means that the commander of a unit commands his troops directly from the most critical or most effective point on the front and not from a secure command post behind the front. This allows the commander to
- follow the events in the core area of the battle directly,
- efficiently enforce its commands directly and without delay,
- counter resistance from subordinates and
- motivate the troops by acting as a role model.
Let’s look at this statement from the military leadership handbook from a civilian, economic perspective and translate it for them.
5 tips for champions
- Orientation: accept the situation, set clear goals
- Presence: leadership from the front
- Team spirit: solidarity and eye level in the team
- Create space: Streamline processes, increase productivity
- Motivation: show partial successes and celebrate together
That’s how it works!
Leading, from the very conception of the term, includes the image of the “resolutely preceding”.
Good contact and good, direct communication with everyone involved is very important to ensure that strategies and adjustments are implemented quickly and directly and have a good chance of being realized.
In the event of conflicts or uncertainty, support is required, e.g. in the form of team or individual coaching (by the line manager). Many employees have no practical experience of crises and may not have learned any crisis management methods. It is precisely these employees who now need orientation and a determined way forward with sense and reason.
Experience with pressure situations shows time and again that the attitude, behavior and expectations of those involved change significantly compared to “normal” everyday life. A kind of tunnel vision often develops and some people lose sight of the big picture.
Basic principle for managers: the more turbulent the situation, the more calm and clear the leadership. No moaning and complaining, but “sleeves up” and tackle the situation together.
Important: Don’t paralyze your employees with additional evaluations and Excel orgies, but create space for more productive activities. Streamline processes and concentrate on creating added value. In sales, for example, this means More time for and with customers, less administration. Hurdles are not overcome by measuring them for the umpteenth time in height, width and length, but by jumping over them in awareness of your own abilities.
Muscles grow through resistance and effort, creativity is awakened through exciting questions, the mind through tasks for which you have to think of something new in order to solve them.
In times like these, champions are made. Are you one of them?
by Karl Heinz Lorenz, trainer at Lorenz-Seminare