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Leaders Make Tough Times Work for Them

10:29 AM Tuesday October 28, 2008

Tags:Leadership, Managing uncertainty, Recession

Good news. You still have your job. But don't exhale yet. And especially don't exhale if you're a manager. Recent research presents two reasons to hold your breath.

One: your employees don't trust you. Randstad USA reported that half of those surveyed believed their bosses were not capable of running their companies, and just over 40% felt their "bosses were open to new ideas."

Two: financial troubles have shredded employee loyalty. The biggest reason is job cuts; survivors don't feel engaged and motivated. Fewer than half of "high income workers" surveyed by the Center for Work-Life Policy feel loyal. These employees were so exhausted they "crashed" at day's end. Nearly 90% report feeling high levels of anxiety. A surprising number of women said they were considering leaving their companies. Some employees used words like "paralyzed," "demoralized," and "demotivated" to describe their attitudes toward their work.

In short, employees and managers agree: being a manager is tough. Employees do not trust you, and you don't think much of the job. So what do you do? Running and hiding might seem a healthy alternative, but it's not a viable solution. Here are some suggestions.

Suck it up. You are still employed. Make the most of it. Acknowledging reality is prudent; dwelling on the negatives is foolhardy. Focus on what is going right. Likely you are still satisfying your customers and you are providing employment to your employees. Don't ask for kudos; just realize that not everything is going poorly.

Talk it out. Encourage conversations among your staff about what is happening and what is not happening. Challenge your people to come up with alternative plans. Creativity often comes from times of crisis.

Work it out. Focus on the work as well as how work affects the bottom line. Use the crisis as an opportunity to stop "feeding the monster." That is, avoid doing the mindless tasks that consume time but do not add value to the enterprise. So find ways to reduce the number of meetings, reports, and approval levels. Do the work; don't seek to justify it to your boss's boss.

Look at the big picture.The economy has weathered crises larger than what we are facing; it will weather this one. No one person, let alone government, can turn the situation around overnight. But you can do something. You can start looking ahead. Think about what you do when the economy begins to turn. Plan for the future. Now is the time to start shaping that future with an eye toward profiting from the eventual upturn.

The upturn will come, eventually, but it may not be going up with you. So consider what you will do if you leave your employer. Will you look for another job, or will you start your own business? Or will you pursue something completely different? Answers to such questions require reflection and there may be no better time to think than now.

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Comments

The problem with most responses to an economic downturn is that most people do not know what they will do in the event that they leave a job or they are laid off. There is no plan. They just go to work every day, hoping that everything will work out. Of course there are feelings of insecurity, but who wants to dwell on it; that can cause anxiety. Most managers do not know how to address such issues and they brush them aside. There needs to be a trusted authority involved in the process of helping people work through management issues and feelings of mistrust. Otherwise, there will be no progress. The change must start at the top and employees need to have the opportunity to be heard.

- Posted by Christal Reynolds 
October 31, 2008 4:50 PM

The Company may have to resort to 5 day week instead of 6 day week.When things are better cater to it by working addl 2 hrs per day & make up for the days lost.
Look at refrain (from Firing ),retain & retrain for the future.After all if the company is rapidly losing money ,where will they get money to pay the employees
If need be ask the employees for ideas.(part time pay.lay offs in rotatuion for a fortnight or a month etc.

Regards
Air Cmde Krishna Shankar

- Posted by Air Cmde Krishna Shankar (Retd) 
November 24, 2008 4:54 AM

There has never been a better time for natural-born leaders and managers to put their best foot forward, leading staff through tough economic times by keeping a sense of humor and a positive mental attitude.

I see us focusing a lot on the financial turbulence; that focus clouds our ability to see the opportunity for the strong people, companies, countries to emerge from this financial crisis with even stronger corporate fundamentals - take the time now to encourage staff education, bonding, discussions, creativity, brainstorming, job-sharing, job-trading., etc.

Also, considering the quality of the staff you are succeeding at retaining - PLAN NOW to take note of which staff exhibit the most employable characteristics and as you can plan to recognize/promote/reward those staff. You'll be putting your financial investment into the employees who give your business the most immediate returns for your investment, and exercising to improve your own career/management skills.

Affordable Small Business Marketing & Sustainability
[Your] Director of Marketing
http://yourdirectorofmarketing.com

- Posted by Debbie Horovitch 
November 24, 2008 6:21 AM

In todays situation it is not to become over catious and slowdown every thing. It the time to have a good time for thinker and innovator to work more and look in to all the possibilities to be more competitive in future, plan for the acitivities in the unknown markets, unfamiliar places.

Where was the time and space for thinking for future when the market was booming, it was only to act for fulfilling the demand of business at hand.

Look for the opportunities out side the mature market, plant the ideas and spread them in to new areas and prospects.

Subhash Niyogi
subhashchniyogi@rediffmail.com

- Posted by subhash niyogi 
November 24, 2008 9:12 AM

I recall working with a group of hospital theatre staff some four to five years ago. At the time their management was considering closing the theatre of this regional hospital.

The Unit Manager took a two-pronged approach to the issue. Firstly she formed a collaborative team including her Director of Nursing and senior team members and worked on a busienss case for keeping the theatre open and secondly she worked with her theatre team to discuss the implications and work through various strategies.

The lessons here. Collaborative action. Everyone in your team has the same goal. That is to remain in work so that they can pay their bills and continue to maintain an acceptable standard of living. Together they share the same issues and they share the consequences of their actions. Together they have the ability to resolve the majority, if not all, issues the team faces.

When times are tough nothing is sacred, nothing is off the table or out to the discussion. All impossibilities become possibilities. In these times good leadership is displayed by the team leader able to stand aside from their desire to seen to lead and instead facilitate the team so that the team leads itself.

John Coxon
Taking You From Frontline Manager to CEO
www.johncoxon.com.au
Email john@johncoxon.com.au
Skype: john_coxon
Blog: http://healthsector.blogspot.com
Blog: http://nfp-management.blogspot.com
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- Posted by John Coxon 
November 24, 2008 5:02 PM

I guess we humans are having a larger problem than dealing/handling our employees during tough times. And that is once we are in a position of power we tend to go to our basic instinct: I am better than you, I am smarter than you, and it goes on and on.
Fortunately a few managers learn to control this behaviour trough tough experiences or extensive studies.

But, still majority are practicing this behaviour over and over again.

- Posted by Mory 
November 25, 2008 12:36 AM

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John Baldoni

John Baldoni is a leadership consultant, coach, and speaker. His work centers on how leaders can use their authority, communications and presence to build trust and drive results. He is the author of six books on leadership, including Lead By Example, 50 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Results. In 2007 John was named one of the world’s top 30 leadership gurus by Leadership Gurus International. For more on John and his work, visit www.johnbaldoni.com.

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