How to Lead in Turbulent Times
In leadership, especially when managing multiple teams or departments, challenging situations will inevitably arise. The question is: how will you respond when you are faced with them?
One of my clients, who I’ll call Sarah, found herself in the midst of a leadership transformation. Her story is one that many leaders face as they make the transition from subject matter expert (SME) to leading teams.
Week one of her new role, Sarah discovered that a key product, one that her entire group depended on, was flawed. As the entire department came to a grinding halt, turmoil erupted and she found herself in the midst of a full-blown “cya” attack. Rather than everyone getting about the business of resolving the issue, blame and fault-finding ensued. Needless to say, this was not productive.
In our coaching session, Sarah shared how overwhelmed she felt—unsure of how to navigate this turbulent situation—and how embarrassed she was because she’d fallen into blame/complain mode with her direct reports. Morale was down and clarity was nowhere to be found. As someone used to solving problems directly as an SME, she instinctively jumped into fix-it mode.
She’d fallen into the trap of "doing the work" rather than "guiding the work".
In our conversation, Sarah realized that she needed to become someone different for her team—no longer the person fixing things in the trenches but rather a steady, guiding presence. She needed to learn how to become the lighthouse for her team, not another boat in the storm.
Of course, as a leader, this doesn’t mean you’ll never have to roll up your sleeves. Occasionally, you'll need to step out of the lighthouse, climb into someone's boat and coach them through the storm. Yet as a people leader your primary role now is to stand as a beacon for the vision of where you're guiding your team to go.
This is where learning how to step out of the tactical, into the strategic and inspired, pays off. Once Sarah had realized her error she knew exactly what to do—slow down, look for what’s working, stay strategic, refrain from blame and hold vision—BE a lighthouse.
Sarah’s leadership shift not only helped her team resolve the product issue more effectively, but it also transformed the atmosphere within the department. By stepping into her role as a guiding presence, she restored clarity and boosted morale, leading to increased productivity and a renewed sense of trust among her team.
How can YOU become a lighthouse? Stay tuned for our next blog, where we’ll dive deeper into practical ways you can step into this guiding role as a leader.
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P.S. If you recently transitioned from a SME to a people leader and feel overwhelmed and pressured in a new role, we have something BIG coming just for you—revolutionizing the way you lead your people! Details to come.
