Special Report
How To Lead During Times of Change, Challenge and Chaos
By Wade Randolph, CEO of Randolph Unlimited
Leadership success essentially depends on recognizing the inherent talents and adopting an approach to continuously work hard with dedication, commitment, and enthusiasm to improve these skills. The core of becoming a good leader lies in being more proactive than reactive.
All great leaders accomplish things that seem impossible for others. They have the ability to empower people surrounding them and lead them to bigger and greater accomplishments.
One should realize that leadership is an ongoing process and success lies on how effectively one is able to motivate other people during the course of achieving the desired goals and objectives.
How can one become a good leader? This frequently asked question cannot be answered without feeling the desire of bringing a positive change. Leadership is not about gaining power, but it revolves around working together with people and constantly contributing to the betterment of society in general.
The ability to bring about a change comes naturally to some people, while the rest need to work hard to develop leadership skills.
Some people have the opinion that great leaders are made, not born.
Harry S. Truman once said:
“Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skilful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.”
What a true statement this is.
Being a successful leader is not all about how you make people work. You need to put all of them together on one page and show them the right direction to move ahead. Let me explain. You need to make effort to find out what people need exactly and how they can work together with you to reach their set goals and objectives. The purpose should be to see development in each member of your group and create a sense of self belief.
Gaining power or authority is not sufficient to be called a leader, but you need to know exactly where you are heading. Without a clear idea about your destination or goals, it is seldom that people follow you.
Once people build trust in your abilities, they will automatically follow you. If you are not sure of the destination yourself, how can you expect people to support and follow you?
In such a situation it is definitely not a wise decision on your part to take thousands of people along with you and risk their lives as well.
Great leaders are people who have the trust and of their subordinates. In addition to being self aware and proactive, the key element in becoming a good leader is having the capacity to quickly adapt according to the situation and accepting harsh realities.
At times, decisions may fail horrifically.
A great leader values all lessons and does not run away from reality. In fact, a leader should inspire people to take measures and steps that can help make the entire situation better.
Great leaders never accept defeat but strive hard to get out of trouble. In many cases, you will observe that troubles are faced as a result of one’s own wrongdoing. So what should be expected from a good leader? It is thinking and implementing strategies to recover from the problems that arise and prevent them from recurring in the future.
I’m at the local hospital, training a group of people on the value of teamwork. We are having an interesting discussion. The attendees are talking about their discontent and general dissatisfaction with the leadership at the hospital. But suddenly, it goes further than that.
Michael, a young person who has worked at the hospital for 10 years, stands up and tells the group:
“There is no leadership within this facility, and it also seems like leadership has disappeared outside of this facility. Where have the leaders gone?”
I know what Michael means. Looking at the present scenario, unemployment is on the rise like never before and things continue to get worse day by day.
Many established companies that have been in business for decades are also unable to cope with problems they are facing during these tough economic times.
As a result, they are closing their doors and there are virtually no opportunities left.
Now, more than ever, people are worried about making ends meet with the money they have.
Michael asked a great question: “Where is our leadership?”
Lee Iacocca, the former chairperson of Chrysler once asked the same thing: “Where are our leaders?”
There are people who are put into positions of leadership in their jobs and in their communities. But just because they have the title, it doesn’t mean they have the skills and abilities to lead.
Leadership is more than having a title or a specific job. As I mentioned earlier, it is about motivating and empowering people to do what you want them to do and what you need them to do. You need to influence and convince them of the fact that they need to change to get the success you want them to achieve.
Now coming back to the ongoing discussion, we continued to talk about what was wrong and how it could be made better.
Marie, who had been a nurse at the hospital for 15 years, then stood up and said, “Wade, when will things finally change?”
That question caught me off guard for a moment. I knew this person was thinking about change not only at the hospital, but also for the world in general.
When will the economy get better?
When will things get better for people who are struggling?
When will the job market come back?
When will people start making more money?
As I searched for an answer, it felt as if time had stopped. I was completely blown away and at the moment all kinds of thoughts went through my mind.
I managed to compose myself and stepped up to reply, “Marie, things will change only when WE decide that they will change.”
As Mahatma Gandhi said, “We must be the change we want to see in the world.” This statement holds true in the existing situation where we need a message to help us move forward.
No one is going to come save us, so we have to save ourselves. We have to be willing to do whatever is necessary to be the catalyst for change and stick with it through all the ups and downs.
Believe me, there will be difficult times ahead, but it is important to maintain a positive outlook and recognize you can develop paths of success.
Your destiny, and the destiny of those who follow your lead, is up to you. It is in your control. When you become a leader, your success should not just be called your personal achievement, but needs to be counted as an overall growth in every individual involved in the task. In Ben Sherwood’s book The Survivor’s Club, the formula of 10-80-10 is discussed.
What the author means by this is that if a boat were sinking, only 10 percent of the people on it would survive. To put this in perspective, if there were 100 people on that boat, only 10 would survive.
Why is this formula so important? It tells us that the first 10 percent of the people won’t believe what is happening, and they will panic and perish. The next 80 percent of the people won’t realize what is happening, and they will do nothing and will perish. But the last 10 percent of the people will do whatever it takes to save their lives.
You are in that last 10 percent because you are reading this special report.
What is leadership? In Robert Dilts’ book, Visionary Leadership Skills leadership is defined as “creating a world where people want to belong.”
In my opinion, Dilts is defining a world that we will seek to understand and embrace our neighbors’ differences, an economy is that is fruitful for everyone, a business climate that promotes honest, respect, integrity, and growth.
Lastly, the author is saying we seek a world that consists of safe communities and promotes a bright future for our children.
This may be a lofty vision that cannot be achieved by one individual. We must be willing to work, as a cohesive unit, using our own talents, skills, and abilities to make this vision a reality.
This special report is an excerpt of the program Leadership 911: How To Lead During Times of Change, Challenge and Chaos offered by Wade Randolph, CEO of Randolph Unlimited Professional Training and Speaking Company. In this program participants will learn new leadership strategies and principals which will allow them to become the guiding force of improvement, growth and change within their organization.
Contact Randolph Unlimited Professional Training and Speaking Company for more details on this program at 804-986-1050 or info@randolphunlimited.com
Wade Randolph
Leadership and Productivity Expert
Wade Randolph, is the CEO of Randolph Unlimited, Inc., a professional training and consultant firm specializing in leadership, teamwork, communication and motivation.
Mr. Randolph is the author of two successful books titled Staying Strong Through the Storm and Leadership 911: How to Lead During Times of Change, Challenge, and Chaos, as well as being contributing author to Amazon Number #1 best-selling book titled World Class Speaking in Action.
Wade is one of the few speakers to deliver a live presentation in Westminster Hall in London England. Presently, he travels nationally inspiring business professionals to higher levels of productivity, efficiency, and performance. He can be reach at 804-986-1050 or wade@randolphunlimited.com
