I noticed it in stressful working situations in Dubai and now even closer to home.There seem to be two kinds of people in my life: those who deal with the problem outright and those who freeze and look for who is to blame. We cannot all work well under pressure, granted, but if you know you are going to be facing some, try to avoid the second type.
Here are the vital characteristics I now know make strong leaders.
1. Long-Term Vision.
2. Problem-Solving skills
Not everyone needs to be THE leader, but it is good to be surrounded by people with good leadership skills, because they are the ones you count on when times get tough and when things are going well and you want to grow your organization. Find and cultivate a team of them. Treat them like gold.
People who make good plans but react badly in a crisis situation are a little bit like smart people. The world is full of them, but that doesn't mean they get anything done. This is where the Long-Term Vision comes in. When you can't see the long-term outcome, those small glitches seem even more devastating than they really are and can provoke that primal need to save face and throw the nearest person under the bus, as they say.
Here is an example of a work situation. Let's say something important does not get done. Perhaps a meeting room doesn't get booked for an important meeting, an email does not get sent to a key person on time, an invitation gets lost in the shuffle. When these mistakes come to light, they make everyone in the organization look bad.
The difference between a leader and a loser, though, is in the next step. How we handle this information.
Here are the rules of thumb I have picked up over the years.
1. Listen and fully understand the problem.
One of the worst things you can do is react before knowing what the problem really is. Talk directly to the source. Don't rely on heresay. Have you read Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman? He says to always remember this: WYSINATI (What you see is not all there is). Always assume that there are bits of information that you do not have yet. Get that information.
2. Apologize even if it is not your fault.
What does it cost you to hear someone and acknowledge their situation? Nothing. Does it make you look like you are at fault? No. What it DOES do is make you look like a human being who cares. This is a cultural battle I will wage until my last breath. The Italians say you should never apologize because it will put you at a disadvantage and people will use it against you. This is almost never true.
Although, if you get in a car accident with a bus in Italy, I recommend you NOT apologize because then you are admitting fault (yes, this happened to me and I paid for it. No one was hurt).
3. Say what you are going to do about it.
This is the best way to calm people down and divert attention away from the crisis itself. Don't waste your time or theirs blaming other people (that is what losers do. But you, my friend, are a leader!). Instead, describe how you will solve the problem. In a crisis silence is everyone's enemy.
4. Do what you say you are going to do.
That's right. Get to it. Solve it. Make the problem better.
5. Follow-up.
Tell the person who was wronged. They will appreciate this attention. Again, even if the problem was not your fault, you come out looking like the hero that you are. They may even become your friends.
6. Don't rub salt in the wound.
At this point, it is okay to talk to the person who made the mistake if you haven't already. But, please, talk to them on the same level so that it can be used as a learning experience. Explain the problem and what you did to fix it. Doing anything other than describing the facts makes you look like an arrogant jerk and is a guarantee that the next big mistake will be yours and it will be rubbed very squarely in your face for a long time to come.
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