It's a tricky ask, doubly so when the political and economic environment becomes ever more chaotic, as it currently feels.
What helps leaders lead during chaotic times, and stay balanced themselves? In a very helpful 10-minute TED Business talk, Professor Amy Edmondson of Harvard Business School sets out four particular attributes of successful leaders.
What resonates with me about these four is that while some sound counter-intuitive, they have all been in the mix at times when I've experienced brilliant leadership.
Prof Edmondson mentions leadership during the pandemic and I think that spending some time reflecting on the leadership that was being displayed during that time – for better or worse – is a timely exercise to do now to inform leadership for these tricky times.
The first of these four attributes is to communicate with transparency, regularly and with full disclosure of what you don't know.
It's okay to change things when new information becomes available and this is where the second attribute comes into play – act with urgency. You can't get the information you need about next steps unless you take action to find out – and action reassures others.
So far, so straightforward. The third attribute, which is often overlooked, is about holding purpose and values central to the decisions and actions you take. Prof Edmondson's point here is that by being clear about the values that are guiding decisions, people can follow the compass, even if they – and you – don't know quite what the map is.
I find this such a useful analogy not least because when situations are chaotic, it's the easiest thing to just do things, without fully thinking about why or even set out a confident map to get from here to there, with no idea of the terrain ahead. As leaders, our values and purpose have to be centre stage to galvanize action and involvement of others and to create a helpful scaffold for ourselves.
The fourth and last attribute is about giving power away. How often have you, in times of crisis and chaos, been left feeling that you are holding the baby for everyone else? It's worth thinking about your own role in getting to that situation. People like to feel and be helpful and leaders need help too – make sure you are asking for it.
For me, the underpinning leadership attribute to behaving in these ways is to act with humility, and don't allow yourself to be pushed into providing a false confidence and certainty to make everyone else feel better. It will only come back to bite you and make things feel less safe for you and everybody else.
