| | DECEMBER - JANUARYMANAGEHRMAGAZINE.COM9news in the future? What are you going to change the next time?Great leaders emerge in tough times. During tough times leaders ... conceive a new vision, create belief in the new vision and transform employee fears into excitement. There would be a shopping list of leadership attributes that every leader should have to stand out in these circumstances but here are a few tips:Tell the truth ­ transparency. No one knows the secret sauce to decode the future, but leaders are bounded to inspire others and give them all safety for business purposes. Transparency drives safety and safety leads to commitment.Build trust. During uncertain times, stress and anxiety grow exponentially. To enable people to cope with this, a leader should give them autonomy and control over decisions relating to themselves.Set the tone. Act as though all eyes are on you (because they are), acknowledge that this is a challenging time and display empathy through communicating and connecting to your team more than usual, and listen to what they have to say, you will be surprised afterward.Establish a clear vision. Balance short- and long-term needs, help your team re-prioritize, operate with a long-term view, and take responsibility. A leader is like a coach in a sports team: he has to line up the team and select who and where they play, but s/he shouldn't pretend to be the one alone in the spotlight if they win. S/he always knows what the plan is and what is going on, s/he stands behind the scenes throughout and is always ready to make the right changes if necessary and keep the team winning.In a high-risk, high-stake, and highly insecure environment, the focus shifts to what is really important. In times of turbulence, motivating and inspiring others is more important than ever. The role the leader plays should be one of stability, s/he should be aware of what is going on, and how the situation is developing on the ground and be ready to intervene only in case of problems.As in the air, turbulence will pass through, but when the captain acts as a trusted leader, s/he will advise the passengers ahead with transparency and will guide the aircraft through the best route to have a smooth transition through it and get the desired direction. Then, is the business strategy a choice? The answer is crystal clear, not at all. The strategy provides direction and guidance to everyone: employees, customers, stakeholders, and shareholders. This direction drives safety; subsequently, this safety drives commitment and trust in leaders to go together through these turbulent times.Any leader worth their salt is asking how to support their team members. After all, these are hard times and leaders must consider how they sustain both people and performance moving forward. A leader is like a coach in a sports team: he has to line up the team and select who and where they play, but s/he shouldn't pretend to be the one alone in the spotlight if they win
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