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Persevering leadership key in crises

(Editor’s note: The Business Journal op-ed pages welcome a new contributor, management consultant Mary Luttrell, who will write about leadership.)

The capacity to persevere is one characteristic that sets exceptional leaders apart. Over the life of most organizations there will be challenging issues, changing circumstances and unforeseen difficulties. Those are euphemisms for crises, setbacks and harsh dilemmas.

Although there are certainly times when businesses and organizations experience good fortune and success, most enterprises encounter serious obstacles and risks at one time or another.

So, what is the role of the leader during difficult times? I submit that in order to successfully meet a severely challenging situation, the leader’s essential task is simply to persevere. Although good strategies and tactics are always extremely useful, the leader’s primary responsibility is even more fundamental. The tenacity to keep coming back to the work at hand, back to the present reality, is what’s required in the face of daunting circumstances.

Over the course of my career as a management consultant, I have witnessed business comebacks from fires, financial crises and public relations disasters. From these experiences I have identified five components of a leader’s ability to persevere.

1. Leaders must have and be able to hold on to their personal visions for the organization. Regardless of how discouraging the current situation may be, exceptional leaders are able to stay connected with their picture of the desired future. Their clarity of vision is like a super magnet that draws them inexorably forward.

2. Leaders must have extraordinary resolve and commitment to that future. This trait goes by many names – fortitude, stamina and dedication among them. It is the capacity to do everything possible and to resist the temptation to give up.

3. Leaders must have a pragmatic, tempered sense of optimism. Once again, this may be known by many names, such as faith, belief and self-confidence. Strong leaders have an almost intuitive feel for finding their way through the brambles in their path.

4. The persevering leader must understand the importance of repetition. This may appear overly simple, but it can mean the difference between surviving or devolving. Just as athletes and musicians must continuously maintain their skills in the fundamentals, the same is true for people in organizations. Oftentimes the work of slogging through difficulties involves a renewed emphasis upon the fundamental, unglamorous and yet essential functions of the enterprise.

5. Tenacious leaders conserve their personal emotional strength and the emotional resources of others by keeping a cool head. During times of stress, the conservation of energy is critical, and unnecessary drama consumes energy.

Persevering leaders are often characterized as strong and courageous, for indeed it requires fortitude to carry on in the face of seemingly insoluble dilemmas or overwhelming adversity. And that is the point. Although the role of leadership requires a broad set of multiple talents and skills, one of the fundamental qualities required for long-term achievement is simply the capacity to continue.

One leader I know likes to call it being “consistently persistent.” In times of hardship, the critical task of a leader is often reduced to the most basic level: to simply keep going.

(A tip for follow-up reading: For a riveting and inspirational true story about brilliant leadership, let me suggest “Shackleton’s Way, Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer,” by Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell.)

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Mary Luttrell is a certified management consultant and business coach who helps leaders be more effective and their organizations be more successful. Her services include strategic planning, marketing, meeting and retreat facilitation, organizational performance development and leadership coaching. She has helped hundreds of organizations in her 25 years in business. To contact her, e-mail thecoach@sonic.net or call 707-887-2256.

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