The Leader's Edge in Tough Times

The current turbulent times are not, as many observers would like to see them, unusual. Rapid turbulent changes create the "perfect storm" for leaders in the 21s century. Just when business survives a serious challenge, another wave of change creates huge obstacles. We turn to our leaders to hear that we're okay. and that our future will be better.

To sustain this public belief in them, leaders must have a strong personal connection in their visions, and an unshakable personal belief that strategies can be implemented so the vision survives and endures. 

How do leaders do this? Eileen Rogers, CEO of LeadershiipSigma, says that a leader's optimism and positivity are the keys. She argues that the best leaders have certain qualities in common during tought times:an amazing ability to see beyond the current reality;

•  an ability to see beyond the current reality;
•  an ability to make great decisions with incomplete information using their intuition;
• an integration of empathy for others with energy that aligns others to their cause;
• an ability to view all events with optimism and a positive frame of mind. 

Usually, when we hear the term optimism, some people believe it's a simple view that everything is okay, even if it isn't. Not so. Optimism doesn't mean ignoring reality, but rather it is one's ability to see alternatives, possibilities and different perspectives in any situation so that a desired outcome can be reached. Famous conductor Ben Zander writes about this in his book, The Art of Possibilities. Great leaders actually are energized by challenges, and often face them with not only courage but humor. Randy Pausch, a famous Carnegie Mellon professor who died of cancer in 2008, gave his last lecture in which he showed the CAT scans of his tumors while breaking up the audience with his humor. The truth of the issue is that all events in life are inherently neutral. We make a decision to see them as either positive or negative. For some people this comes from a natural pessimism or natural optimism. According to psychologist Martin Seligman, who wrote Learned Optimism, pessimists are more likely to view an event they see negatively as the beginning of a spiral of more negative events to come and become close-minded. Optimists see the same situation as only temporary and the future as full of possibilities. Optimists build resiliency, which is a characteristic of great leaders. Optimistic leaders cope with setbacks and bounce back better than pessimists. Optimistic leaders energize their constituents to rally them around a vision of a better future, and transform the mental and emotional atmosphere. Management guru Warren Bennis once commented, "optimism is about possibilities, change and hope. Without these qualities, how can any leader succeed?"   Rogers suggests some ways that leaders can improve their optimism and positivism:

• develop a more optimistic interpretation of the current reality;
• reframe the current situation;
• connect your view of the future to your core belief system;
• look at the big picture, not just the accumulation of small snapshots;
• foster emotional resilience in others;
• quarantine adversity--contain the impact of negative events as temporary, specific and external;
• control what is in your power and don't worry about what isn't;
• engage others--avoid the temptation to withdraw into your castle;
• ensure the atmosphere around you is positive;
• embrace change--it's the only sure thing;
• use your imagination to rehearse  

We are at one of those turning points in our history where the kind of leaders we have and how they exercise that leadership is critical to the kind of world we live in. Optimistic and positive leaders are needed, and the rest of us have a duty, not just to support them, but to insist on that kind of leadership. Ray Williams is Co-Founder of Success IQ University, and President of Ray Williams Associates, companies located in Phoenix and Vancouver, offering leadership development, personal growth and executive coaching services. www.successiqu.com