LEADING IN A CRISIS- DO YOU HAVE THEIR TRUST AND CONFIDENCE?

My brother Charlie shared his thoughts with me on the post- Where Have All the Leaders Gone? As always, his comments made me think deeper on the subject. He questioned the term Crisis Management. Is there such a thing? Well, we do know you can lead in a crisis, or not. The key to being able to lead in a crisis, is do people trust you?

In a WSJ article there is a quote from a Booz & Co. study that nearly half of senior managers lack confidence in their CEO to lead their organizations through the current hardship. Wow! Clearly, someone was asleep at the switch during the good times.

But if you do have the trust of your team, you can accomplish amazing things. You need to build and earn the trust in good times. There are several stories about this in our book Excuse Me, Aren't You In Charge?

If you do not have their trust, I would suggest you start working now to gain it for the future. They will always remember what you did when the chips were down. If you do have their trust. Congratulations!

Here are a few things to remember as you make withdrawals from your trust bank:

1) Everyone is Afraid of Everything
But if they trust you, they will follow you anywhere. Remember, that mid-level leaders are also afraid and yet you need them to help you lead. Confidence, calm, candidness and yes trust; so be trustworthy.

2) Leverage the Talent
Now, more then ever, let your employees come up with ideas. Let their talent free! You can not do it all yourself anyway.

3) Action Over Analysis
Yes, we need to be thoughtful and make the best decisions. But take action. Let your team know that you are not only willing to make decisions and take action but also to change direction or approach if it doesn't work. Remember, they trust you.

Until next time,
Gail