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Demonstrating Leadership in Turbulent Times

By Generational Equity

08/17/2020

Recently I came across an article written by Vistage Chair, Artie Isaac, discussing leadership ideas in the light of our current times. Entitled “5 Strategies for Leadership Challenges”, it is full of really good insights on effectively leading and mentoring during these challenging circumstances. 

All of Artie’s ideas are helpful for anyone leading people, especially right now. But one of the five really stood out to me:

  • Define the new “normal”

He makes some very good points about leadership and helping associates and teammates understand that, for a while at least, we may not strictly return to “normal” as we once knew it. However, as we have discussed before, the entrepreneurial spirit is strong in this country. Our ability to adapt, innovate, and overcome will position businesses for not just longer-term growth, but also for buyer examination down the road.

Artie sums it up very well here:

Normal isn’t the way it used to be. Normal isn’t the way you envision the future. Normal is the way it is today. You might like the way it is today, you might not, but this is normal. We need leaders to lead on this because we can’t ever again be ignorant of the challenges our employees are facing in the fullness of their lives. Remember that these leadership challenges will pass, and when it does, will each of us learn something and retain that learning during the experience?

We agree with Artie that eventually the trials and tribulations we are facing will pass and we, as a country, will come out stronger on the other side.

However, the process you apply to surviving and/or thriving during these times will determine where your business is positioned in relation to your exit plans. In other words, buyers are still active and are expected to ramp up activity even more so as we approach the end of 2020 and beyond.

The businesses that are “buyer ready” – those that have implemented new ideas, created new strategies, those that have adapted and who have leaders that have led in the “new normal” – will be the ones that enable their owners to exit for maximum value.

So where is your business in relation to your exit planning? If you have considered putting your plans on hold for the long term, it might behoove you to re-examine that idea by attending a Generational growth and exit planning conference in your area.

Our consulting team is ready to be your guide and partner in developing tactical and strategic growth strategies that will help you lead your team through this “new normal” and help prepare you to optimize your exit when the time is right for you.

Thanks to Artie Isaac, Vistage Chair, for writing such a well-thought-out piece on leading during these times. I would encourage you to read the entire article here:

And we leave you with a few inspirational thoughts on leadership/mentoring that we hope will give you courage and strength to innovate and create with your team going forward:

"The things we fear most in organizations–fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances–are the primary sources of creativity." —Margaret Wheatley

"Leadership is lifting a person's vision to high sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations." —Peter F. Drucker

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." —Steve Jobs

Carl Doerksen is the Director of Corporate Development at Generational Equity.

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