There are times when all leaders are put to the test — an unexpected economic downturn, personal betrayal, loss of physical ability, a natural disaster, civil unrest or technological disruption.
As surprising as it may sound, it is during these difficult times that we’re likely to see some of the most extraordinary leadership. Research shows that when faced with adversity, crisis and setbacks, leaders often perform at their personal best.
Every single personal-best in leadership involves a change in the way things were. A leader never achieves their best by keeping things the same, irrespective of the challenge — implementing innovative new services, establishing groundbreaking governmental reform, transforming a bureaucratic programme, or starting a new agency or business.
The truth is that challenge is the crucible for greatness. Leaders seek and accept challenging opportunities to test their own abilities. They also challenge others to test theirs.
They seize initiative and make something meaningful happen.
Great leaders challenge more to achieve more
The origin of the Palm islands in Dubai is a story that illustrates a leader’s pioneering and adventurous spirit. As the story goes, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, told the then chairman of Nakheel, “We need more beaches in Dubai.”
The Nakheel chairman reported that with his engineers and designers Nakheel was able to come up with a plan to give Dubai seven more kilometres of beach.
“If we say we have a plan for seven more kilometres, Shaikh Mohammad will say “Well, if you can come up with seven why can’t you come up with 10”.
“So we presented our plan that we were very pleased with and told him this plan would give seven more kilometres of beach (beyond the original seven). Shaikh Mohammed looked at the plan and said, ‘Well if you can come up with seven kilometres, why can’t you come up with 70 kilometres?’”
Great leaders look for innovative ways to improve
Exemplary leaders are pioneers, but they aren’t the only creators or originators of new products, services, or processes. In fact, it’s more likely that they’re not. Exemplary leaders are constantly looking outside of themselves and their organisations for new and innovative products, processes, and services.
Exemplary leaders don’t rely on only a chosen few to provide ideas. They look for good ideas from anyone, at any level and in any function in the organisation.
Great leaders are great learners
Because innovation and change involve taking risks, exemplary leaders also create a climate for experimentation, the recognition of good ideas, and the support of those ideas. Mistakes and failures are inevitable, but exemplary leaders proceed anyway.
Progress is not made in giant leaps. It’s made incrementally.
For example, when Patricia Maryland came on board as president of a community hospital in Detroit, Michigan, she found an organisation in distress. It had survived a series of mergers, but it was losing money.
It was perceived in the community as having poor quality of care. Staff and doctor morale was extremely low.
These issues demanded immediate action, and because they had existed for so long, they required some fundamentally new approaches. But rather than tackle the big issues first, Patricia’s strategy was to win a few early victories in her efforts to improve the quality of care, patient satisfaction and staff morale.
Fresh paint, new carpets, new artwork, new uniforms, new waiting areas and new furniture can do wonders in setting a tone of professionalism, so that’s what she did first. “I really felt it was important to create an environment that was warm and embracing, allowing incoming patients to feel some level of trust and comfort,” Patricia explained.
Gradually these small changes began to persuade the staff that other things could change.
This story also illustrates how leaders are constant learners. In our research we found that there’s a strong correlation between the success of leaders and the process of learning.
The best leaders are the best learners. Leaders are constantly learning from their errors and failures, and they engage more often in learning activities.
Great leaders challenge their teams to encourage engagement
The data from our research shows that being challenged results in greater levels of employee engagement. Constituents who felt challenged by their leaders reported 25-35 per cent stronger feelings of being engaged.
Additionally, the least challenging leaders received evaluations from their constituents that were 40 per cent lower than those received by leaders viewed as seeking out challenges for themselves and their teams.
The Gulf is widely recognised as a place where businesses thrive, organisations grow, and cities are built because leaders are able to seize the initiative and lead through challenging times. The evidence affirms the wisdom of these practices.
They bring out the best performance in leaders and their teams.
The writer is the Dean’s Executive Fellow of Leadership at Santa Clara University and has co-authored over 30 books, including ‘The Leadership Challenge’. He delivered a keynote at the HR Summit and Expo in Dubai on November 18.
