7 lessons fr leading in crisis

8/7/2019 7 lessons fr leading in crisis

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Bill George is professor of managementpractice at Harvard Business School,

where he teaches leadership He has made frequent appearances ontelevision and radio, including the CharlieRose Show, CNBC, the Today Show, theNews Hour with Jim Lehrer, BloombergNews Fox Business News,and nationalpublic radio

His articles have appeared inFortuneMagazine, the Wall Street Journal


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He has been named one of Top 25 BusinessLeaders of the Past 25 Years by PBS

Executive of the Year2001 by the Academy ofManagement; and Director of the Year200102 by the National Association of CorporateDirectors

He has received honorary doctorates fromGeorgia Tech and Bryant University


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THEULTIMATETESTOFLEADERSHIP

There is nothing quite like a crisis to test yourleadership. It will make or break you as aleader

Crises have brought down many leadersand their organizations with them, whileother leaders have risen to the challenges toprove their mettle

Like being in a war, crises test you to yourlimits because the outcome is rarelypredictable

Leaders develop through crisis


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What kind of challenges are you facing inyour organization?

What are the practical ways you can lead

your organization through them withoutbeing undone? With all the pressures

How do you stay on course of your True

North?


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THE 7 LESSONS

The following are some of the lessons amanager should take in crisis situation andprove him to be a great leader


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Lesson 1:Face reality, starting withyourself.

Not to judge leadership from the outsidebefore understanding what is going oninternally

Max DePree writes, The leaders first job is todefine reality. The last is to say thank you.

the reality of the crisis is the most important

lesson of all. Until you acknowledge that youare facing a seriousproblem, including yourrole in creating it, you cannot move forwardto solve it.


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Lesson Learned

The crisis isnt going to fix itself, so denying itsexistence can only make things worsemuch worse. That reality must start with you

and your acknowledgment of your role inthe crisis itself. Then you have to guide yourorganization to face reality as well


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Lesson 2:Dont be Atlas; get the world off yourshoulders

You cannot get through this alone, so donttry to carry the whole world on yourshoulders

Reach out to others inside your organizationand in your personal life to share the burdenand help you come out a winner

This is a great opportunity to strengthenchemistry within your team, because thestrongest bonds are built in crisis.


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Lesson Learned

You will be much more effective in gettingthrough a crisis when you get the world offyour shoulders and share your burdens with

others. With the team solidly supporting you,you are prepared to bring them together todig deep for the root cause of the crisis andget the problems fixed once and for all.


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Lesson 3:D g deep or the root

cause

Under the pressures of a crisis, there istemptation to jump to quick-fix solutions thatmay mask the real problems and leave your

organization vulnerable to repeating thecrisis. The only way to solve these problems isto understand their root cause andimplement permanent solutions


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Lesson Learned

An organization cannot deal with a crisisuntil it determines its root cause, but peopleare often mentally blocked from recognizing

it because the implications are sofrightening. The leader must bring peopletogether to confront their worst fears andaddress the risks


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Lesson 4: Get ready or the long

haul

In its early stages, you may be looking onlyat the tip of the iceberg, and things may geta lot worse.

To survive the crisis, you need to prepare fora long struggle to defend against the worstconditions so you will be prepared to passthrough the eye of the storm


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Lesson Learned

When facing the early stages of a crisis, it isessential not to declare victory too soon.

Prudent leaders recognize that survivability

is their most important goal, so that they cancome back strong as the crisis subsides.


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Lesson 5:Never waste a good

crisis

The challenges you are facing representyour best opportunity to make majorchanges in your organization because they

lessen the resistance that exists in goodtimes. You should move aggressively to takeactions necessary to strengthen yourorganization as you emerge from it.


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Lesson Learned

The leadership stories of GEsWelch andIBMs Gerstner are fulsome examples of howgreat leaders use a crisis to transform their

enterprises Leaders who dont take advantage of crises

to make long-term changes not only wastetheir opportunities but sow the seeds for a

repeat experience


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Lesson 6: Youre n the spotl ght:

Follow True North

In a crisis, everyone watches what you do.Whether you like it or not, you are in thespotlight both inside and outside the

company. Will you stay focused on your TrueNorth, or will you succumb to the pressure?


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Lesson Learned

These days the intensity of the spotlight is sogreat that leaders cannot get away withdissembling or being intentionally misleading

The key is getting out in front of the crisis in its

first hours with clear statements, both internallyand externally, that accept responsibility andbuild confidence and credibility with all yourconstituents


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Lesson 7: Go on o ense; ocus on

winning now.

Coming out of a crisis, the market neverlooks the same as it did going in. So dontjust batten down the hatches and wait for

business to come back. This is youropportunity to reshape the market to play toyour strengths. While others are licking theirwounds, you should focus on winning now.


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Lesson Learned

The final lesson to be learned is to keep yourhead up during a crisis rather than hunkeringdown, and maintain a laser-like focus on

winning in the emerging marketplace offers the best opportunity you will ever

have to reshape markets to youradvantage.


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CRISISMAY BE YOUR

DEFINING MOMENT The crisis you are facing, or inevitably will face,

may be the defining moment in yourprofessional life. Scottish mountain climberMurrays wisdom offers a powerful message totodays leaders as you face that moment: getcommitted to a bold plan, and the universe willmove with you to enable you to turn your

dream into reality.


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7 lessons fr leading in crisis

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