I still vividly remember the first significant crisis I had to handle at work.
I had been with Adobe for about a month. I was the technical sales guy on a team of five in charge of Southern Europe. Adobe was just getting started there, back in the early nineties.
The Managing Director told me, “Tanguy, we have a problem in Spain. Our distributor just went bankrupt. I need someone to salvage the situation, find new channels, and get us back on track. You speak Spanish, don’t you?
I did. Sort of! I had the basics but was far from business language fluency. Spanish was the third foreign language I had learned at school, after German and English.
Yet, the opportunity to lead a business during such uncertain times and learn a ton from it was all too-encompassing for me.
I enthusiastically said: “Yes.”
“Good!” responded the boss. “You’re in charge now. Get ready to be in Barcelona early next week and take it from there.”
One year later, I managed to tame the crisis, made my first $1M in revenue, discovered a fantastic culture, and significantly improved my Spanish skills!
For whatever reasons, many more times in my career, I found myself in similar situations where a crisis had brewed to the point that required careful intervention. I’ve discovered I liked high-stakes uncertain situations, from divestitures to mergers and acquisitions or business turnarounds.
Some would say I’m solid at solving crises. I’m convinced this trait can help determine outstanding leadership in these times of high volatility.
So, how can you best lead during a crisis?
In my experience, I’ve seen the following three aspects form a solid basis for managing any crisis effectively:
#1 – Ability to prioritize and focus
The crisis or turnaround situations I’ve been in all brought a lot of noise and potential distractions. It was essential to put on blinders and stay focused on what truly helped move the needle.
#2 Decisiveness in the face of uncertainty
Once laser-focused on the right things, decisions were more manageable, even with significant uncertainty and few facts. I also learned firsthand that most decisions are two-way-door, and you can revisit them if necessary.
#3 Active listening and rational compassion
In divestiture situations that were highly uncertain and required tough decisions on people’s futures, I learned to pay specific attention to what the team needed and wanted. It helped keep us all engaged through the transitions and secure a better outcome.
It’s just my experience. Your context will likely differ because of your industry, culture, and history.
Still, I invite you to reflect on the most significant challenges your team or organization has faced in the past year. When issues were effectively handled, what was different? How did the team and their leader go through these? What patterns could you replicate in the future?
Our future will see many more crises and uncertain situations. They’ll hit you, one way or another.
So, get ready to tackle these and embrace the unknown!