If we’ve learned anything over the past few years, it’s this: the world throws curveballs, and if you’re leading anything—whether it’s your family, a team, a business, or an entire organisation—you better be ready to handle them. In the last four years alone, we’ve faced a global pandemic, runaway inflation, recessions, the Ukraine war, and conflicts in the Middle East. It’s been a lot, right? And the only thing that’s been constant through all of it? Change. So, how do leaders stay positive in such times of crisis without looking like they’re counting the lifeboats on a sinking Titanic? Well, it starts with a few things: self-awareness, staying grounded in your core personal values, leaning on executive coaching, and most importantly, developing mental toughness. Let’s break it down.
The Power of Self-Awareness in Crisis Management
Self-awareness isn’t just some trendy buzzword thrown around in leadership circles at the moment. It’s crucial to your success, especially when leading through a crisis. The better you know yourself, the better you can handle the pressure. When crisis hits, the first thing that gets tested is your ability to keep a cool and level head. Your team is looking to you for direction and stability. If you’re not self-aware, you’ll make decisions based on panic, and trust me, panic never leads to problem resolution.
Self-awareness gives you the clarity to stay calm, assess the situation as objectively as possible, and make the right choices. It’s easy to get swept up in the chaos, but knowing your strengths and weaknesses will allow you to pivot and make better decisions. Plus, it prevents you from spiralling into a place where you can’t even see the way forward. You don’t need to be perfect, but understanding your emotional triggers, your limits, and your biases will help you navigate a crisis without crashing and burning.
When I transitioned into running my own business, I encountered moments of significant uncertainty—especially when things didn’t go as planned. Through applying some self-awareness, I quickly realised that I had to step back and assess my leadership approach. You see, I once believed that being a hard-driving, impatient, and sometimes unempathetic leader was who I was. It’s the identity I held onto and the traits I thought made me successful. But in reality, those same traits were holding me back from making the right decisions and building stronger relationships within my team. I had to acknowledge that these habits, deeply ingrained from my past experiences, were limiting my growth and harming the team.
As I began to embrace self-awareness, I let go of the parts of my leadership style that were unhelpful and started to build a leadership approach rooted in empathy and adaptability. This transformation didn’t happen overnight. But, just like I share in Let’s Get Real, it’s through change that we find our true potential. The result? My team respected me, and productivity soared. Looking back, I know that this shift was crucial not just for problem resolution in crisis moments, but for the long-term success of my business.
Core Personal Values: Your North Star in Crisis
In times of crisis, your core personal values become your guiding light. When everything is uncertain, you need to have a clear understanding of what truly matters to you. It’s easy to get caught up in the urgency of the moment and make decisions that serve the short term. But staying true to your values ensures you’re not just putting out fires, you’re resolving issues in a way that’s sustainable.
Let’s Get Real: you can’t always control external events. But you can control how you react. If you’ve got a strong foundation built on your values, you’ll know exactly what’s worth fighting for and you’d be able to tell a compelling story to trigger the desirable behaviour of those in your team. And that helps you maintain a sense of unity and optimism, even in the darkest times. When everything is burning down, it’s your core values that’ll remind you what’s worth saving.
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”
– Helen Keller
Helen Keller’s words, “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence,” serve as a powerful reminder of what drives successful leadership in times of uncertainty. With the right mindset and a commitment to problem resolution, leaders have the opportunity not just to survive a crisis, but to emerge stronger from it.
Executive Coaching: The Secret Weapon for Leaders in Crisis
This brings me to executive coaching—and yes, I’m biased here, but hear me out. As a leader, it’s easy to think you have to have all the answers. But you don’t. In fact, not having someone to bounce ideas off of, or someone who can help you gain perspective, can lead to poor decisions, burnout, and the dreaded spiral of negativity.
I’ve been in leadership roles where I’ve had to coach others through crises. But I’ve also had my own coaches who helped me navigate through the noise. Executive coaching is a vital tool, especially when things are going south. You need someone who can help you see the bigger picture and keep you grounded. This is where problem resolution comes in—being able to take a step back, evaluate the situation, and come up with a solution that’s practical and effective.
Coaching helps you sharpen your decision-making skills, and in a crisis, this means you’re less likely to react impulsively. Instead, you’ll approach problem resolution strategically, considering the long-term impact. A good coach will help you dig deep, focus on solutions, and avoid getting trapped in a cycle of stress and negativity.
Mental Toughness: The Backbone of Leadership in Crisis
Now, let’s talk about mental toughness. No leader can survive the constant barrage of challenges without developing a solid mental game. It’s easy to be positive when everything is going well. But in a crisis? That’s when your true leadership abilities are tested. Mental toughness doesn’t mean being invincible. It means knowing that setbacks are part of the process, and understanding that what matters most is how you recover.
Building mental toughness comes from experience. It’s about learning from your mistakes, bouncing back, and not letting failure paralyse you. The world is full of crisis moments, but it’s the leaders who can stand tall in those moments who ultimately succeed. It’s about being resilient, adaptable, and staying focused on problem resolution no matter how tough the situation gets.
When the pandemic hit, businesses all around me were scrambling. I knew that the survival of my own company depended on maintaining a positive mindset while simultaneously adapting to the new reality. Mental toughness wasn’t about denying the impact of the crisis—it was about accepting it, and then figuring out how to move forward with purpose.
As leaders, it’s not about the crisis itself, but how we approach it. Remember what Captain Jack Sparrow wisely said: “The problem isn’t the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.” This captures the essence of what mental toughness really means in leadership. It’s about attitude, perspective, and the ability to resolve issues in a way that keeps the team moving forward.
Final Thoughts: Hope is Key, But Don’t Be Naive
At the end of the day, the biggest mistake you can make as a leader in a crisis is to be overly optimistic without a clear strategy for problem resolution. You can’t be Pollyanna about it. Yes, hope is crucial, but being realistic about what’s happening and preparing for the worst while aiming for the best is a far more effective approach. This is how you can stay positive without losing credibility.
So, how do you keep your head up when everything around you seems to be falling apart? By staying self-aware, relying on your values, getting the right coaching, and building mental toughness. Leaders who can manage these four areas are the ones who emerge from crises stronger and more successful.
