Leading In Challenging Times
By John C. Maxwell
Years ago, I became convinced of a truth that changed the trajectory of my life: Everything rises and falls on leadership. Great leadership has the power to improve an entire organization. And, unfortunately, bad leadership has the power to bring down an entire organization. Leadership, good or bad, influences every part of an organization. Leadership affects what happens in government, business, education, religion, sports, and entertainment. This is particularly true when the stakes are high.
Today, we live in a high-stakes leadership environment. While it might be difficult to lead right now, you didn’t just sign up for leading when things are easy. Leadership is a moving target, and it always will be. If you desire to become a better leader, get comfortable with change.
Learning to lead in times of change is especially important in schools. I know this because I grew up with educators. My father was president of a college, and my mother was a local librarian. I was raised to believe in the importance of education and because of that, my life was beautifully changed by many educators and teachers. In fact, it was a teacher early on in my life who identified me as a leader.
If performance in a company is down one year, it’s easy to blame the dip on the economy and make plans for improving next year, but schools don’t have this luxury. As educators, you can’t take a year off. Your schools mold the ideas and thinking of the next generation. It’s a responsibility that must be stewarded no matter how challenging the circumstances. So, how can you steward this responsibility well?
I want to share with you seven practices for leading in times of great challenge. I’ve traveled the world for more than 50 years teaching leadership. And I’ve found that these seven principles define successful leadership everywhere. They apply in the smallest offices and the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies. They guide both young leaders just beginning their journey and the most accomplished people in the world.
As you consider this list, reflect on your own leadership and remember: Everything rises and falls on leadership. What kind of leader are you?
1. Great Leaders Listen Before They Lead
The easiest temptation of a leader, especially in times of frustration and challenge, is to lead from their position. This is a slippery slope. From your position you have certain rights that come with your title. Your people do have to listen to you but if you lead people using only your position, and you do nothing else to try to increase your influence, then people will follow you only because they must. Great leaders listen to their people before they lead. This doesn’t mean they must do whatever their people ask them to do. It means when they make decisions as a leader, they do so from a more informed position.
2. Great Leaders Let Go of What They Can’t Change
Challenging times almost always come with frustrating circumstances. Whether it’s a situation, a policy, or even a leader above you, almost all leaders face obstacles they cannot change. As a leader, your job isn’t to fix the situation, the policy, or the leader; it’s to add value. You must let go of anxiety or frustration over the things you can’t change and find a way to make a difference. The happiest leaders don’t necessarily have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything.
3. Great Leaders Release Control on How Their Vision Becomes Reality
At this point in my career, I’m convinced that good leaders of organizations get to control mainly two things: direction and timing. You will get to set a vision for your school or district, and you will get to establish timelines for announcements and goals. Beyond these functions, leaders recognize that their vision will evolve in the hands of their people. Great leaders let go of expecting everything to happen just the way they thought it would. Legendary basketball coach John Wooden said, to be successful, “You must be interested in finding the best way, not in having your own way.”
4. Great Leaders Focus Their Time Only on What They Can Do
There is an ironic reality for leaders as they rise through the ranks to new and bigger positions. To become leaders, people must be able to do many things well, but to become leaders at the top, they must do fewer things with great excellence. I’ve yet to meet a successful CEO who isn’t focused and who doesn’t limit themselves to the one, two, or three things they do best. You cannot become an effective leader unless you are willing to let go of some of your responsibilities. So, what’s a good rule for transferring leadership responsibility to someone else? I use the 80% rule. If someone on my team can do one of my tasks 80% as well as I do (or better), I give them responsibility for it.
5. Great Leaders Share Credit for Success With Their Team
Great leaders understand they don’t really deserve all the credit for the success of an organization. Success comes from the people who get the work done—especially the leaders in the middle of the organization. This is why I believe great leaders take all the blame in failure but give away all the credit in success.
6. Great Leaders Find a Leadership Sounding Board
It’s very important to find peers or mentors from outside of your organization who you can lean on in challenging times. When Sir Isaac Newton discovered the laws of gravity in the 1600s, it revolutionized astronomical studies. But if it weren’t for Edmond Halley, few people are likely to have learned about Newton’s ideas. Halley was a sounding board for Newton’s ideas, he challenged Newton’s assumptions, he corrected Newton’s mathematical calculations when they were off, and he even drafted geometric diagrams to support Newton’s work. No leader ever accomplishes something great without support.
7. Great Leaders Don’t Manage Their People, They Lead Them
People sometimes ask me to explain the difference between management and leadership. Here’s my take on it in a nutshell: Managers work with processes; leaders work with people. Both are necessary to make an organization run smoothly, but they have different functions. Though people can be managed, they would much rather be led. And when they are led, they perform at a much higher level. So, how can a leader tell whether they are managing or leading? Here are some reminders I like to give people about leadership. Leadership is:
- People more than projects.
- Movement more than maintenance.
- Art more than science.
- Intuition more than formula.
- Vision more than procedure.
- Risk more than caution.
- Action more than reaction.
- Relationships more than rules.
- Who you are more than what you do.
Your Leadership Opportunity
Leading any organization is never more difficult than in the face of challenging circumstances, but the greatest leaders learn to see challenging circumstances for what they are. Jack Welch, the CEO of General Electric, said, “Leadership is seeing opportunity in tough times.”
As you lead in your own challenging season, remember that your people are not looking for you to have 100% certainty. No leader can know everything. Instead, the defining trait of leadership in challenging times is movement. Leaders are always taking people somewhere. They aren’t static. If there is no journey, there is no leadership. Don’t be afraid to lead when times get tough. Tough times are just the moment when leaders are needed most.
John C. Maxwell is an internationally recognized leadership expert, speaker, coach, and bestselling author who has sold more than 38 million books. He is the author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Developing the Leader Within You, and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. He will speak at UNITED in July.