Leadership in these Economic Times

With the economy going up and down in the last couple of years businesses have had to be nimble and resilient to ensure that they stayed afloat or prospered in this environment.  Leadership in a time of change can be a career maker or a career breaker. How can you make sure that it a career maker? In order to progress in times when the environment is shifting all around you need to do the following:

• Be open to new opportunities – as the environment is changing, leaders need to be open minded to new opportunities in their business. Although certain strategies may have worked during good economic times new strategies may need to be implemented to take the company through a down economy. What are new ways to keep ahead of your competition? Is it creating a joint venture that offers something that is a great complement to your business? Is it adding a new type of product that your customers are asking for and you know you could also implement well. What new opportunities are available to you if you just kept your ears open?
  

• Let go of things that are not working – if there are things that you are doing that are no longer working then it is time to let it go. Although it may be something that you truly want to be doing, the market may just not be what it is looking for. Is there something that you have been trying to sell for a while without any results? Is there something that you keep trying to do and need to let it go? Being an effective leader also means letting go of what is not working in a timely manner so that you can put your energy into what is truly working.
  

• Invest in your top performers – although during tough economic times you may want to cut down on expenses, you need to keep investing in your top performers. They are the bread and butter of your organization (especially service organizations) and they need to feel special even during the toughest times. Otherwise they will leave the minute that the economy is back on track. As is said in the book “Good to Great” Jim Collins says “getting the right people in the bus” is more important than even focusing on the right strategy. If you have the right people in the organization then you can ensure that you are creating the right strategy and continuing to create the results you want.