Leadership in Crunch Time

The dynamics of leadership was the subject of a study by Stanford University. They looked at low level employees that rose to become presidents of Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies. Was there a common trait that these leaders demonstrated during their rise to the top? One attribute was found to be the most common. Leaders emerge during the most difficult of times, during crisis. The study found that this is not trained but rather inbred in the character of the leader. With that said, our own leadership skills come to the forefront during times of great stress.

We know that problems, setbacks and crisis are inevitable. They are unavoidable and they never end. If you were to describe a leader's job it would be as a problem solver. To much is give, much is expected as a leader. More money, more problems. When these inevitbale crises occur the only thing a leader can do is to respond. If we could control it, we would have stopped it from occurring in the first place, but since we couldn't…here it is. This is called our response ability. Our ability to respond to crunch times of modern life. Brian Tracy, outlines 7 keys that can be implemented during times of great challenge.

1. Stay calm. Slow down and take a deep breath. Remember that a leaders job is to solve problems. Top leaders stay relaxed. According to neuro-science, blood flows to the front of the brain, the thinking brain, when we remain calm. The front of the brain, the thinking brain, is where we analyze, make decisions and take action. However, when we get excited blood flows to the paleocortex, or the animal brain, which triggers emotions. Anger, fear, flight or fight etc. A leaders job is to keep cool so that we utilize the thinking part of the brain.

2. Get the facts. Not the assumed or apparent facts get the real facts. Often times when something goes wrong we don't have the full story. Jumping to conclusions and panic is what generally happens to weak people. The way to stay calm and to get the facts is to ask questions. Leaders listen. Leaders ask a lot of questions. They withhold judgment until they have all the information and then make a decision.

3. Take responsibility. This calms a leader down. By repeating the mantra, "I'm the responsible one, I'm the leader and it's my job to stay cool and solver problems." Refuse to complain or throw a pity party. What is, is. Don't criticize other people. Believe that people have the best intentions. People make mistakes and things go wrong sometimes…it's just the way it is. When we are critical of others we shut down the thinking part of the brain and began to act of out emotion such as angry or resentment. Taking responsibility even when we didn't cause a specific crisis is an important trait of a leader. Our job is to stay cool, calm, friendly, warm and in control.

4. Remain Confident. We have all the intelligence and ability to handle any problem thrown at us. We are not given a problem that we can't solve. Exude confidence. There is a rule out there that says that your people are a direct reflection of you. Other people are watching us and they are watching to find out if we are confident. If we maintain our poise then others will retain their poise. If we stress out then they will stress out. Act as if the successful result is already assured, even if on the inside we feel some fear or insecurity.

5. Unleash Creativity. Ask the question, "How?" "How can we solve this problem?" "How can we overcome?" We only answer questions that we ask ourselves. Use this technique: Take a piece of paper and with your team ask the question, "How can we solve this problem?" Get people involved in the solution. "We can do more of this or we can do less of that…" Never lose focus on being solution oriented. Those that are weak place blame on others. It is always the fault of others and they focus on blaming someone else. Don't focus on what can't be changed, only focus on what can be changed.

6. Concentrate on Priorities. Stop. Time out. Keep the main thing the main thing. What matters most right now? Who are the important people to get involved? Slow down and focus on the most important thing that can be done. Concentrate on stopping the bleeding. "What can is the most significant thing that I can do at this time?" is the key question to ask.

7. Counter Attack. Do something now. Stop. Think. Get the facts and get to work. See the key people. Talk to the players that need to be talked to. Make the phone calls. Attend the meetings. Stay action oriented. Action is one of the main things we can to do maintain control and our personal power. As we take action then we get feedback to self-correct and take more action. The more active we are the more ideas we get and more action can be taken.

Crunch time is inescapable. Throughout life there will be unexpected challenges, problems and crises. The only question is how well we perform under those circumstances. By performing well during crunch time we become leaders and live an inspired life

Ian Fitzpatrick has lead and built numerous organizations. He is considered a master at developing leaders and has helped hundreds of people realize their goals. He wrote this article on Leadership to serve as a blueprint. Ian also teaches those in the MLM and direct sales industry how to succeed at a high level by generating 50-100 highly qualified prospects daily with his MLM Training Secrets.