It is common during hard times for a senior leader to call me up, and request that I come and deliver a leadership seminar. They believe that once the training is completed, all will be right in the world again. In particular, they believe that all who participated in this training will be, once again, motivated, focused, and ready to charge forth. They will then have the capacity to overcome anything and everything.
While I am strong believer in the transformational power of education, I am not always certain that a seminar is the first place to go during hard times. Instead, I believe we need to start by asking an important question: What are the characteristics of a leader worth following?
During the 24 years that I taught the From Vision to Action Leadership Training, a year long and in-depth course about leadership, strategic planning, and organizational change, I asked this question of my students and dove deeply into their answers. We explored and debated the characteristics of a leader worth following, particularly during organizational change and difficult periods with numerous adaptive problems.
Over and over during these lively discussions, students shared with me that the leader they choose to follow was someone who was caring and faithful. These leaders helped people understand what was happening and what it meant for them as an individual and as a company as a whole. They focused on being trustworthy and compassionate. They were authentic and helped others understand what to focus on during hard times.
In each of these important discussions, students regularly came to one significant and important realization. The way leaders choose to act was powerful. Their role modeling taught them more than anything else during hard times.
I always smiled when this realization surfaced during class. It was a big “aha” during the first session, because time and time again, students came to understand that theory became reality based on how we behave as a leader, not just what we think as a leader.
That is why I regularly remind leaders during hard times that you are the curriculum. Your actions and your choices are noticed and discussed. Your questions and your responses are explored and reflected upon day in and day out. While a seminar can be very helpful to create common ground, the most important learning takes place when we, as leaders, choose to act with integrity and clarity. As Brene’ Brown reminds us, “Integrity is choosing courage over comfort; choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy; and choosing to practice our values rather than simply professing them.” Our choices have a profound impact. Thinking clearly about them and then choosing thoughtfully will help you and your entire team move forward together. Hard times happen. So can good choices.
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