In hard times, I think leaders need to:
- Have rigour to decision making – constrained resources mean decisions are harder to reverse and more costly to get wrong.
- Be willing to make hard decisions and stand behind them – it’s inevitable that you have to make (more) hard decisions in a tough market.
- Be intensely focused on delivering value – in hard times leadership is measured less by vision and more what is actually accomplished.
- Build systems of accountability – and use them, when layoffs are more likely, it’s all the more critical that the team you have is structured to be successful.
- Understand constraints (of resourcing, time, or money) and how to operate within them – this feeds into decision making, and also the need to say no. Find cheaper and more sustainable ways to motivate and align people – when you can’t promote people or pay them more, what else can you offer them?
