Recession Leadership: Be Real, Communicate, And Look Ahead

January 9, 2009

Fast Company has an interesting Q&A with Ram Charan (author and management guru) about leadership in an economic downturn. My first post about managing in a recession, Lead Your Company Out Of A Downturn, was based on an article in Fortune Magazine by Charan.

I really liked Charan’s answer to the question: What is the biggest difference between the leaders who will be able to pull through and those who won’t?

There are three differences in the leaders in these circumstances. The first and foremost is defining realism, and then taking the actions now and not postponing them. The second thing is orienting people on the new reality with superb communications–internally and externally. And the third, coping with the toughness of the existing environment, but positioning the business to change the game after the storm.

My take: Take to heart the three things Charan prescribes for leaders in a recession: realism, communications, and future-orientation. It captures the essence of these great quotes by GE CEO’s:

The bottom line: Recessions require even more leadership.

Filed under Executive leadership, Purposeful Leadership Tagged with , ,

About Bruce Temkin, CCXP
I'm an experience (XM) management catalyst; helping organizations improve results by engaging the hearts and minds of their employees, customers, and partners. I enjoy researching and speaking about these topics. I lead the Qualtrics XM Institute, which is the world's best job. We're igniting a global community of XM Professionals who are inspired and empowered to radically improve the human experience. To achieve this goal, my team focuses on thought leadership, training, and community building. My work is driven by a set of fundamental beliefs: 1) Everything starts and ends with human beings, so you need to understand how people think, feel, and behave; 2) XM is a discipline that needs to be woven throughout an organization's entire operating fabric; and 3) Building the XM discipline requires a combination of culture, competency, and technology.

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