Anyone can be a good leader during prosperous times. It’s easy to set a good example and inspire your team when the money is rolling in and everyone is making bank. It is significantly harder to be a strong leader when your team is suffering, sales are slumping, or there is an overall morose feeling invading your company.
If you want to learn how to be a better leader during difficult times, it is imperative you adjust your approach. To help you improve your leadership skills even when times are tough, integrate the following tips into your leadership mindset.
1. Gentle Guidance Doesn’t Mean Weakness
During a toilsome time, your team might need gentle guidance instead of brash boasting and commands to work harder. If you want to be thought of as an admirable leader, you must learn to temper your instructions and motivations with a gentler spirit during challenging times. This doesn’t mean you become a pushover or wallow in misery with your team. You still need to lead your team but do so with a kinder soul and an understanding heart.
2. Inspiration + Motivation = Recovery
You may find that during wearisome times you need to up your game in terms of inspiring and motivating your team. They’re already having a challenging time; it’s up to you to not increase their burden. Work on inspiring your team through your actions and your attitude. Help them see things will get better and to remember how strong they are and the feats they’re capable of accomplishing. Learn to double down on inspiration and motivation during troubling times and you’ll earn the respect of those around you.
3. Captain Courageous
Imagine yourself as the captain of a ship sailing through a storm. You want your team to be able to trust in your leadership and to know you’ll keep them safe regardless of what happens. If you want to be a better leader during challenging times, you must earn the loyalty of your team. You can’t demand loyalty (regardless of what Donald Trump thinks!) and you can’t expect your team to blindly follow your leadership. It is only through earning their respect and helping them to understand you’ve got their backs during this arduous time that you will become the courageous captain you seek to be.
4. Grow Against the Wind
Look at the challenges your team is suffering through as your opportunity to excel. Use the office atmosphere as your opportunity to shine during a dark time. When you realize you needn’t sulk in the shadows but instead step into the storm and become a bold leader, you realize just how empowering it can be to hone your leadership skills during troublesome times.
Learning how to become a stronger leader during burdensome times takes hard work and a willingness to step outside your own comfort zone. You may feel uneasy at first or think your team will see through your bravery and uncover your quivering knees. If you are willing to push through your fears and approach your role like a leader going into battle for your team, you will find becoming stronger as a leader gets easier over time. “Push forward, understand you need to be an inspiration, and relish your role as a courageous captain,” suggested Robb Misso.