The Challenges of Leadership
Great article over at Harvard Business Publishing’s Discussion Leaders about the difficulties of leadership when morale is low, mentioning two issues in particular; a lack of faith in management and the high amount of workplace anxiety due to job cutting. For the middle manager, the challenges are doubly difficult – as you are managing your staff in difficult times, your own job may be at stake.
What to do? The article offers this advice:
- Make the most of the situation, focusing on what is positive.
- Communicate, separating facts from rumors.
- Collaborate, working together to solve issues creatively
- Focus on results; not presenteeism and busy work.
Ultimately, the challenge is to be stronger as your company works its way out of the current downturn, moving ahead of your competitors.
