THERE is never a time when leadership does not have its challenges, and this is particularly so during periods of economic downturns and great uncertainty.
Chief executive officers have a heavy duty to ensure that their organisations are able to withstand a potentially long-drawn downturn.
Companies with limited funds will be more pressured to improve their efficiency.
Companies that have deep reserves and stand to make great gains from potential mergers and acquisitions, will also want to step up their internal resilience so as to reap the maximum benefits from any such exercises.
CEOs are not expected to make perfect decisions all the time but to demonstrate the qualities of stewardship in an increasingly tough environment.
The worldwide credit crunch has put additional pressure on them to come up with sustainable measures for survival.
Simply put, this crisis will separate out the men from the boys.
It is a tough call but in the current environment, CEOs should show their leadership in being able to pick out and really reward those who can soldier on.
The CEO should use this period of general inactivity to shape up his organisation so that it is prepared for the upturn.
It should not only be in terms of cashflow and reserves when companies are planning for up or down cycles; the human capital aspect also needs to be closely scrutinised.
In such a challenging environment, the popular option would be to hire and fire so that only the best would be retained.
However, companies that are far-sighted would look after their staff and prepare for better days ahead.
It is during hard times that companies call for greater accountability and trasparency.
During good times, a lot of fat and wastage are accumulated; all these need to be shed now.
Leaders who have been very strict even during good times stand to reap the fruits of their labour.
Come bad times, they and those under them do not suffer so much as a lot of good business practices had been inbuilt into the system already.
Recent experience in developed countries has shown that a lackadaisical attitude combined with an idealistic approach towards free markets are sure recipes for disaster.
It is hard to be strict and popular; good leaders will strive for results while enlisting support from all quarters.
The foundation is usually built during good times as leaders with good foresight will always plan ahead for the downcycle.
For those who have missed the boat and find themselves largely confronted with a team of boys, it is not too late to shape up.
There is no knowing how long this downturn can last; many believe it will get worse before it gets better.
Ultimately, it is always the team that matters, their spirit and dedication is the thing that will make it or break it. A good leader is always cognisant of that.
Time will tell.
k
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4 comments:
I fully agree with Kevin's sentiments expressed here. We need more managers who can 'think beyond the money'. Dave
Leadership is always needed. There seems to be so many different perceptions of what constitutes 'good' leadership. Does it depend on who the followers are, their needs, what they expect from the person in a leadership role?
"The foundation is usually built during good times as leaders with good foresight will always plan ahead for the downcycle."
But in practice, it is hard to seperate the "cautious leader" with the "forethoughtful leader". interestingly, "forsight to downcycle" has been always considered as "coward", and moreover this proves how precious insistence is.
"We need more managers who can 'think beyond the money'." (2008, Dave)
1, one behave is more 100 setences. so actually i believe prepare beyond the money is more suitable here.
2, Dave, I agree with this in common management with comparatively static environment. But in one more dynamic economic context or even in crisis management, we could not expect manager to foresight all potential disasters and how to response to crisis seems more esstential. But defintely "prepare beyond money" can reduce the time expensed to optimally reallocate resources against crisis, hence from this perspective, it's wise to state leader who can "prepare beyond the money" can response better in "the money".
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