I have been meeting with a business and personal coach and mentor for over a year now. This gentlemen is older, an academic, and has a history of success in entrepreneurship, manufacturing, finance, management, and leveraging global markets.
Recently, we had lunch and discussed the new book Lights Out: Pride, Delusion, and the Fall of General Electric. During this conversation, he made a startling statement.
He said, “Brian, you are not a leader until you encounter crisis and survive it with these three things intact.” The following is what he listed:
- Your Integrity – Has crisis caused you to compromise financially, morally, or in your marriage? Did you take shortcuts or lower your standard of excellence? Have you stayed true to the organization’s core values?
- Your Optimism – Has crisis cause you to become cynical? Does your leadership now naturally default towards doubt, depression, and/or discouragement? Is the glass half-full or half-empty? Do you have the capacity to see failure and crisis as an opportunity?
- Your Basic Belief In The Goodness Of People – People are an organization’s only appreciable asset. Do you truly believe that? Is the best still yet to come for your team? Do you still think the best of people? Is your natural assumption that someone “meant well” when they made a particular decision? Are you a person of the second chance? Are you excited to see your team each and every day?
Nick Saban teaches his players to never waste a crisis. I have heard others say that when in a crisis, live your life today like you want to tell the story 10 years from now.
Your integrity. Your optimism. Your belief in the goodness of people. Keep these three things and you will be a leader worth following?
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