‘The darkest moments of our lives are not to be buried and forgotten, rather they are a memory to be called upon for inspiration to remind us of the unrelenting human spirit and our capacity to overcome the intolerable’
Vince Lombardi – the legendary Green Bay Packers coach.
Where do you get your inspiration from? I’ve been pondering this question over the past couple of weeks as the deadline for writing this month’s article loomed ever larger.
To be honest I’ve found inspiration to be in short supply at times during this January.
Everywhere I look the media is telling me we’ve never had it so bad. Headlines such as ‘lowest bank rates since Adam was a boy’ (well 1694 actually but who’s counting) and ‘jobless total heading for 2 million, infinity and beyond’ are not designed to inspire anything other than doom and gloom.
Let’s face it, it seems like we’ve been preparing for this current recession for the past two to three years. The media-inspired cottage industry building up around the ‘down economy’ is having a field day.
And then I remembered the words of the actress Goldie Hawn (not often you get references to Goldie in your typical business newsletter is it?!) “You can choose your mood”. She may not be a management guru but her home spun philosophy is not a shabby one.
The more I meet successful people, the more I see how their positive attitude defines them probably more than any other characteristic. They aren’t so much half full as filled to the brim with positivity.
During difficult times we find out a lot about ourselves and those around us. Leadership is easy when the going is good. But leadership only truly matters when the going is tough.
So what mood have you been choosing of late? Are you allowing yourself to be swayed by the doom mongers or are you choosing a more positive path? Remember the words of Henry Ford:
‘If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.’
Positive does not have to mean unrealistic. I have been writing this against the backdrop of Barack Obama’s inauguration speech. It’s being hailed by many as inspirational and yet if you analyse it you see a speech that is sombre in tone. A speech in which he acknowledges that the country is in the midst of crisis, mired in wars, its economy struggling, and its national confidence sapped. The reason the speech inspired so many is because he told the truth and held up a mirror to his fellow citizens. Yet at the same time he reassured the people that he did not intend to fail them.
Another very clever thing Obama did was to get the bad news out there early. He made it very clear there was a big mess to deal with and that while it wasn’t of his making, it was his to sort out. He took ownership and made it clear that he expected everyone to do their bit as well.
The resilience of people is dramatic. Not merely in reaction to this financial mess, but in general, in reaction to illness, death, disappointment, loss, or unfair circumstances. Resilience is based on the intrinsic belief that you can muster the learning, behaviour, and strength to overcome. It applies to everyone and it is embodied in a line Obama used right at the end of his speech:
‘Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter.’
We can take accountability for our own lives and act accordingly, or we can walk around scared and blaming. We can accept, or we can resist. Our in-tray does not include an $825 billion rescue economic package, nor the problems of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. But what we do have in common with the new president is the responsibility to step up to the plate (I thought I’d keep in the American spirit) and face our challenges with integrity, honesty and conviction.
The bad news needs to be communicated. Accept the challenges facing your business, but more importantly instil in your people the belief that you all have what it takes to make it through. To accept the current situation as the norm, rather than harping on about when times will get better, means that you activate your team to make things work right now. The sooner you get that point across the better.
If you do this, then you will inspire confidence and hope in your people. You’ll also convince yourself of the possibilities that exist even during the eye of the hurricane and mobilise your team to act. In so doing you are demonstrating the key attributes of a leader; to influence the behaviour of others to achieve extraordinary results.
So thank you Goldie and Barack. We can indeed choose our mood. I choose to leave you with a quote that sums up this very point:
‘The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.’
John Maxwell
A leader who definitely adjusts the sails is Richard Baker, former Chief Executive of Alliance Boots. Look out next month for my interview with Richard. He has some fascinating things to say about leading a business to success.