Only Leaders Like This Can Survive Crises, Are You One of Them?
These two qualities make a successful leader when times get hard.
A world with crisis after crisis is becoming the new norm — we’ve seen what happened in the past 3 years.
There are billions of people around the world, millions of which call themselves leaders, but few have what it takes to survive times of crisis.
Imagine, if the worst thing that could happen happened in your career or personal life, are you ready to get through it victorious?
When war comes, the military generals of peaceful times get taken out — because they’ve lost, or never had, the ability to fight and win a battle.
The same works for crises. Only leaders who can lead in good times and bad times are true leaders. Everyone can lead when people are happy and economies are booming, but few can handle the reverse.
A crisis calls for leaders with two qualities: rationality and courage.
Let me explain why.
To effectively manage a crisis, a leader needs to show up and do three things:
- Make a decision
- Assert it
- Take responsibility for it
No part can be left out.
Why Rationality?
A leader needs to overcome the influence of emotions, which are bound to show up when things go wrong. The decision is the backbone, and it must be good.
To resolve crises, the decision is usually not about how we can do the best thing, but about how we can minimize our losses and survive.
They can’t be idealistic, they just need to find the best solution to solve the survival problem at hand.
So, the leader needs to be practical — rationality promotes that.
Why Courage?
Without courage, nothing gets done. Courage drives every part of the process.
A decision could always be wrong. A leader needs the courage to trust their own judgment and do the right thing — they risk looking really bad.
People will react negatively. A good decision is often a painful one for some — these people don’t like that, and they’ll stand against you.
Here, a leader needs the courage to do what they know is right despite rejection, hate, and backlash.
Lastly, a leader needs the courage to own the results. If things go well, everyone’s happy — they all share the benefits. But if things go wrong, it’s on you — you’re ultimately responsible, and you have to pay for it.
The stakes are high in practice — your decisions are tied to your career or something you value a lot — and courage helps you move forward.
A crisis could be around the corner every minute, and those who can lead with rationality and courage will thrive while others get taken down.
A true leader shows up and runs in the front when times get tough. They choose the best rational path and shoulder the burden to get others out of trouble — even if it means they could get into trouble themselves.
This is what I believe a leader should be.
Are you prepared to lead in times of crisis?
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