You want a job description for the business leader of today? I can give it to you in two words: solve problems.
I know what you’re saying: “Tell me something I don’t know.” After all, everyone’s heard the statistic that 80 percent of startups don’t make it to their fifth year.
Well, here’s something you might not know: It’s getting even harder.
Don’t believe me? Here’s another statistic that makes my case and we’re going back a long way. More than half the companies that were industry leaders in 1955 were still leading their industries in 1990, 35 years later. However, more than two-thirds of the industry leaders in 1990 no longer existed in 2004.
Forget startups! Two-thirds of the market leaders weren’t around 14 years later.
Those statistics come from the book Better Under Pressure by Justin Menkes. He gives those statistics simply to show that today’s successful CEO must be able to operate in turbulent times. Because that’s all there is anymore!
So, if the marketplace feels difficult, the first thing to understand is that this isn’t weird. It’s the new normal.
The forces of globalization are bringing all kinds of new challenges to the business of today. As the United States continues to deal with the coronavirus.
Think about that. The first case of the coronavirus surfaced in China in November of 2019. In the very next quarter, it has affected every single business in the world! Now, how many business plans for 2020 do you think included a never-before seen virus from China in their SWOT analysis?
So, how do business leaders deal with all this? It starts, as usual, with mindset. The most successful leaders, as Menkes states, “master their reaction to stress in a way that turns it into a high-octane fuel that allows them to operate with peak efficiency.”
In business, we rarely get to choose the context in which we operate. But we always get to choose how we react. It’s the reaction to volatility and crisis that differentiates today’s best business leaders.
Okay, so once they get their mindset right, what do leaders actually do? In his exhaustive research and experience as an executive recruiter, Menkes came up with three traits present in the most successful CEOs:
- Realistic optimism
- Subservience to purpose
- Finding order in chaos
Let’s talk about each of those.
Realistic optimism. Leaders need to be honest about the situation in which they’re operating. You must “as-is” your conversations. Don’t stick you head in the sand.
The leaders who only share good news with their team and don’t help them face reality, aren’t believable.
But you can’t stop at reality. A leader must also project optimism. People follow hope. So, in the midst of crisis, a leader has to be confident of getting through it.
Subservience to purpose. Leaders who survive in volatile circumstances do so because they are pursuing a goal so important that they must achieve it.
This is why it’s so important to define your culture before a crisis. It’s the vivid vision of your business that will help you lead a team through crisis.
And, finally, finding order in chaos. The best leaders hit the crisis head-on. They practically relish the opportunity to show what their teams are capable of. In turbulent times, we want to follow leaders who can call out calm during the craziness.
This is why you build systems in your business. So that when a challenge comes along, the team can fall back on the good habits they’ve established. If the crisis is big enough, the leader must remind everyone to put one foot in front of the other. Follow the process. Figure out if this new context requires adjustment to the process and keep moving forward.
There you have it. To operate in today’s market, business leaders must be realistically optimistic, subservient to purpose, and have the ability to find order in chaos. All these traits are important because they engage the leader’s team to realize their highest potential for themselves and the business.
If you cultivate those traits, I’m confident you can become – and stay – a leader in your industry.