Leaders are best described as persons who have been given the opportunity and authority to direct and lead a group of individuals.
They distinguish themselves from others because of their critical and out-of-the-box way of reasoning.
Before we go any further, let’s talk about turbulence. Turbulence is a state of unrest. It can be a sudden change in national policies, the day-to-day running of a business, organizational structure, and so on. When a situation like this arises there’s a risk of confusion, disagreement, or even violence.
Regardless of the inevitable turbulent times, one thing is certain. The world doesn’t stop and hence you can’t take a pause. You must be able to survive and also excel in turbulent times in terms of business and relationship management.
To survive chaotic seasons you have to channel critical thinking in your organization or nation. This means you’d have to look beyond the traditional P7 that involves (products, promotions, policies, processes, procedures, pricing, and people).
But why not P7?
Dear friends, for your business or relationship and even your nation to survive turbulent times then the change starts with you, else there’s barely any chance for your business, relationship, and nation.
Starting with you helps you to easily point out the problem of your investment, business, family, or relationship. To create an atmosphere conducive enough for leading at any time or season then you should start with managing and effectively leading yourself.
Always remember that to be a leader with an impact you must first conquer yourself and the world would follow suit. Don’t be scared to do away with things causing you problems, be ready to embrace change.
5 tools for effective leadership in turbulent times
Here are 5 tools you can equip yourself with (or watch out for when choosing a leader) for effective leadership in turbulent times.
1. Make your growth a priority:
The more you grow, the more your organization grows. You can only imagine what happens when you stop improving yourself. That’s right! Your business, organization, or relationship slowly capsizes to its barest minimum.
2. Be a lifetime learner:
To keep growing then learning has to be a lifetime activity for you. This is the only way that you’ll keep leading competently and also increase your influence.
By acquiring more knowledge you can develop your leadership skill to perform excellently in different seasons. Learning is critical for stability and also as guidance to followers. It helps cultivate strong leadership and cultural values.
3. Always remember pride goes before a fall:
There is nothing new under the sun, whatever you have done or thought of has been executed by someone else. You are a leader but you are not irreplaceable. If you don’t accord your organization and followers respect the organization starts to deteriorate.
You need your followers as much as they need you.
4. Be honest with yourself:
Don’t shy away from asking and answering self-evaluation questions. Questions like
“Who exactly am I?” “Am I a tyrant or team builder?” “Do I dish out instructions without wanting an opinion from any other person?”
Honestly answering these questions puts you on the right track to see how well you are doing and how much more you need to change. African leaders and business owners in their majority see power and authority as a means to an end. But that is far from being an effective leader.
Do not forget that “teamwork makes the dream work”.
5. Know yourself:
It was earlier mentioned that when you conquer yourself the world follows. Self-knowledge and evaluation are important as it helps you explore deep within your thoughts and feelings.
This way you can harness your strength, weakness, temperament, and work habits into achieving the best results. Self-knowledge gives you a good sense of where you are, where you are going, and how you’d get there.
Your values, i.e. ethical values, relationship values, success values, and business values would not have to be jeopardized in any way.
Note, as a leader, your values are the soul of your leadership and this is because it comes from your beliefs. These values drive your behaviors and it reflects in your organization, relationship, or business.
Guidelines for leading in turbulent times
To apply these tools to improve your leadership skill here are a few guidelines to follow;
1. Make sure to take a break to make changes.
2. As a competent leader visibility is key. Being visible and transparent in your dealings is proof of your competence.
3. Do not forget that your followers do not only look up to you for directions and guidance. They also look up to you to build and regain confidence. To utilize the input of every individual you must let them know how their contributions directly or indirectly affect the team. This will make your followers channel their energy into meaningful projects.
4. As a leader, you are the ambassador of your organization or brand. You are in the position to make critical decisions that would make or mar the stability of the organization.
Dear friends, don’t let a turbulent phase ruin all your hard work to the ground. Let your values turn into integrity as this would attract your team to stick by you or direct you to the right person to lead you!
Be equipped and be ready to conquer wherever you find yourself.
