The Fab Four Tips for Managing
in an Uncertain Environment
By Gary Gzik
Nowadays, leaders are looking for ideas to help the cope in this uncertain environment. Cost cutting, reduced customer sales, and blurry forecasts are all adding to employee nervousness and negativity. Leaders recognize the need to keep morale and productivity up. Tapping into creativity and the resourcefulness of employees is imperative to keeping a competitive edge and maintaining customer confidence.
Now is not the time for leaders to hide in the office and bury their heads in paperwork. This is an opportunity for leaders to define their leadership. It's easy to lead when things are going well, the true test of a leader is can they rise to the challenge when things are rocky.
I've included 4 strategies, the Fab Four per se, for coping in these difficult uncertain times.
Do the Right Things.....Brilliantly: Don't panic because of a tough economy. Get back to the basics. Focus on those factors that have the biggest impact to your success. The two that need to be at the top of your agenda are Customer Satisfaction and Cash Flow. Cash flow is the engine that keeps your company moving. You need this in control so you don't become distracted when delivering your product or service. Are the right processes and effort in place to manage the cash flow of the business?
Attention also needs to be on customer satisfaction. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate commitment and excellence to serving customers. Find out what real value added service customers expect and focus on delivering it brilliantly.
Are you doing all you can to ensure that your team is armed with the knowledge and resources to deliver the most value to your customers? Are you making it crystal clear to everyone that they collectively must do the right things to exceed customer expectations?
Answer the door. Opportunity may be knocking. General Douglas MacArthur stated that "There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity". Recession and business opportunities often come hand in hand. Are you thinking outside the box for new opportunities or just reacting to the situation of the day? What a great time to tap into the expertise and resourcefulness of your team. Opportunity can knock in many different forms, from filling a need where your competitor has dropped the ball, to connecting with customers to redefine value added service to eliminating waste in processes so as to strengthen the foundation and position the team to take full advantage as the economy strengthens. Focusing your communication and efforts around opportunities and possibilities generates hope and excitement. Are you even listening for the knock on the door? Are you preparing to answer it?
Get noticed, get visible, get heard: Too many organizations react to tough times through cost cutting measures. Although this may be necessary, it also presents a great opportunity. When companies pull back, the result is that heads go down, not up! What I mean is that people put their nose to the grindstone and just get busy. Leaders recognize the need to stay visible with both the team and their customers.
We've all heard about Managing By Walking Around. In uncertain times, this now becomes an important role for leaders. The team needs to see you. They need to know they have access to you. They need to feel your confidence in them and know that you are aware of what is going on. Make it a priority to check with the team, informally by walking around, everyday. As for customers, get on the phone. Send them an email. Lead the charge and have your team call customers and clients and ask them how they are doing and how you can help. Visibility, just showing up is a strong message to send to your customers. Fight the natural urge to withdraw in these uncertain times and as leaders redirect your energy to 'show up' for your team and redirect their energy to 'show up' for your customers. This can produce some rather positive and surprising results.
Integrity through Transparency: I can honestly say with all the years I've spent training companies, I have never seen 'no news filled in with good news'. When people are unclear with information or communication is incomplete, the natural tendency is for people to fear the unknown. Rumours, doubt, fear and negativity can spread quickly without having any facts. As a leader, practice transparency with your communication. Be completely open and honest with information. But remember that people need an explanation with the information. Don't dump and run. Even sharing the most difficult information builds integrity of leadership. Besides how can you expect people to act responsibly and decisively if they don't have the same information that you have in decision making?
Mary McCarthy, an author and critic, stated "Make it a rule of life never to regret and never look back. We all live in suspense, from day to day, from hour to hour; in other words, we are the hero of our own story". As leaders, we have the opportunity to influence the heroes of success. The Fab Four tips are a vehicle to help you with the journey.
For more ideas on developing greater management leadership skills, contact Gary Gzik at ggzik@bizxcel.com.
Gary Gzik is the CEO of BizXcel and has been a consultant for businesses for over 20 years. He has worked with hundreds of organizations and more than 10 000 individuals in areas of leadership development, effective communication skills, strategic planning, presentation skills, team building, customer service and personal development.
