It would help if you put metal through intense heat and hammering to make hardened steel. This arduous process is called forging, and done correctly will 10x the strength of the steel! You strengthen steel by pushing it to its limits, not by wrapping it in bubble wrap; the same goes for you as a leader. Accept adversity as the way to forge your leadership and become a part of the next generation of great leaders!
Forging leadership through adversity means accepting difficulties and challenges as both inevitable and essential to developing as a leader. The greater the challenge, the quicker the growth. Facing adversity head-on, will build rapport with employees and guide them through difficult times.
In this article, I’ll elaborate on the importance of great leadership when facing adversity and how it can affect those around you.
How Does Adversity Affect Leadership?
Adversity strengthens leadership qualities by teaching managers how to solve problems, manage emotions, and deal with stressful situations. This hardship allows them to learn and grow in their leadership role and gain the trust and respect of their employees.
When discussing how adversity can affect anyone in a leadership role, we should first define it. Adversity is a time of difficulty or misfortune. This expansive definition means you can face many different types of adversity.
In my career, most of the big leaps of leadership development have come from preparing for or during international deployments. When the stakes are high, and you have things to lose, sometimes even lives, you also have the most significant opportunity to learn and improve your leadership.
When the stakes are high, and you have things to lose, sometimes even lives, then you also have the biggest opportunity of learning and improving your leadership.
In the workplace, lives are rarely in danger, but adversity can be as enormous as an entire company struggling financially or as small as a disagreement among fellow employees. The severity of adversity is less important than how a manager deals with it.
For example, a workplace disagreement may seem like a minor issue to those uninvolved. However, it can quickly escalate into psychological warfare between opposing factions, especially in smaller teams where employees are likely to form close bonds with their colleagues.
In such a situation, the manager must resolve the issue without belittling either party. Thus, the manager must practice a different set of skills than what is needed for running everyday tasks.
What sets average and great managers apart is their ability to tackle adversity without fear and move toward a resolution that benefits the team, the mission, and themselves.
Adversity will not only allow you to learn new skills but also shows your employees exactly who you are as a leader (and, therefore, also as a person).
Adversity will not only allow you to learn new skills but also shows your employees exactly who you are as a leader (and, therefore, also as a person).
Here are a few skills that leaders can learn through adversity.
- Patience when waiting for a resolution
- Empathy in understanding how your employee’s personal lives affect your team
- Self-awareness to understand your weak spots and your strengths
- Effective support, identifying necessities, and providing the support your team needs to maintain forward momentum on the task
- Appreciation for the situation and your employees. A crisis will put things into perspective.
- The ability to Adapt in a fast way without being overly anxious
- Understanding of employee expectations of you, your team, the task, and the company
- The importance of your leadership as well as others in the company
Leaders who deal with adversity in the workplace learn how to switch between multiple tasks quickly and effectively. For example, the manager must handle the following if the company is in dire financial straits.
- Prioritize tasks that can help get the company back on track
- Manage job insecurity and keep employees focused on the task
- Deal with the emotions of stressful situations
However, if the manager is not adequately prepared, which I have seen far too many times in the Army, they become stressed, make poor decisions, and lose their front-sight focus.
How To Learn From Adversity as a Leader
Adversity is always difficult to overcome (otherwise, it wouldn’t be adversity 😉). However, there are a few tips you can employ to get some benefits out of these challenging times.
1. Make an “Objective” Assessment of the Situation
The first step to overcoming adversity as a leader is objectively assessing the situation. This process involves stepping back from your understanding and looking at it differently.
I say “objective” because, in some real sense, that’s what we want to reach, but it can also be argued that true objectivity cannot be found. Instead, we should find counterarguments to our prior perception of the situation.
For example, if you think Donald Trump is the worst president the US has ever had, then instead of googling “Why Trump sucks” and further strengthening your preconceived beliefs. To find a counter perspective, you might search for, “What great things did Donald Trump achieve.”
You ask different questions, forcing you to step out of your comfort zone and accept that every situation has more than one viewpoint. The ability to understand and aggregate the collected data will determine the success of your leadership and your team in the long run.
You ask different questions, forcing you to step out of your comfort zone and accept that every situation has more than one viewpoint.
The first step in effective problem-solving is thoroughly understanding the issue/task. Once you know what the problem is or what specifically a business without this problem will look like. Then you can start thinking about routes to get there.
Ask yourself the following questions to understand the situation.
- What is the difference between the situation we are in and the situation we want to be in?
- What are the most likely, the least likely, and the most threatening consequences if I do nothing?
- What do my manager and the company want to achieve?
- What additional information would make me completely change my mind about the situation? Where could that information be found if it existed?
Once you have the answers to these questions, you have the foundation from which you can build a plan.
This objective assessment allows you to calmly figure out where you need to go without emotions coming.
An overly emotional leader is prone to making mistakes, especially during a crisis. While empathy and kindness are strengths, you should learn when to use your emotions to help your team and when to use logic to solve an issue.
90% of my job as an Army officer has been to asses situations and build simple plans that my team can quickly understand and autonomously execute. When you want to lead your team effectively and spend less time on misunderstandings, I invite you to book a FREE discovery call with me!
2. Focus on Strengths
It would be best to consider how your strengths can help you through it. As a manager, you should also consider how your employees’ strengths can help the team.
For example, If you are great at motivating and inspiring your people into action, use that skill to your advantage; times of challenge or crisis are not the moment to improve your weaknesses. Instead, you should exploit what you already have!
Times of challenge or crisis are not the moment to improve your weaknesses. Instead, you should exploit what you already have!
If your strength is working hard, take this time of adversity to do just that. Employees often look to their leaders as an example. So, when they see you working hard, they are more likely to follow in your footsteps.
There is a difficulty, though; in the Army, we often struggled with new soldiers thinking some officers didn’t do anything other than sit inside and hide from the rain (which, in part, is, of course, through 😉). This was because logistical officers were rarely seen in the field by the soldiers. And the soldiers had not yet understood that the only reason why they had food, water, and diesel was because of the “hiding officers.”
Here you as a manager have two directions you can go, either you appeal to the reasoning part of their brain and explain to the employees/soldiers that “hiding officers” actually do critical work. In my experience, this rarely has any more significant impact, and you will soon hear the same old complaints.
or
You do something that is more complex and takes additional time, you show the employees that they can trust your judgment, and you let them know that you have complete confidence that “hiding officers” are doing a vital job, and if they didn’t you’d be all over it.
This means employees are handing over the “assessment” to you, someone with better insight into what is happening. Building trust is a powerful performance tool; it works as a shortcut, avoiding noise and unnecessary conflict.
When you want to know how to forge unbreakable trust in your team so you can spend less time on HR issues and 10x KPI, I invite you to book a FREE discovery call with me!
3. Talk With Your Employees
Communication between managers and employees is essential in any business but becomes even more vital during adversity. During difficult times, your employees need to hear from you. Communication can help them with morale, productivity, and satisfaction.
Not all adversity is company-wide or job-threatening. However, that doesn’t mean your employees can’t tell when something isn’t right. It can be challenging as a manager when you can’t tell your employees exactly what is happening, but you still need to be as transparent as possible.
Don’t just “communicate” to your team; listen, talk, and engage with them on a deeper level. Don’t simply send an email; at least give them a call, or preferably have a one-on-one where you have a genuine and valuable chat.
For example, if you, as a manager, face issues at work due to a hostile colleague, you may be tempted to keep it under wraps. As a leader, your first instinct is to deal with it yourself instead of “burdening” your employees. However, your employees can most likely tell that something is bothering you.
Clear communication will allow your employees to focus on their work without worrying. In this case, it’s best to let your employees know what you’re dealing with. You could tell them that another manager is causing a few issues and leave it at that.
In my 12 years of leadership experience, the most valuable lesson I have learned is that your team will be your greatest asset if you let them. Instead of hiding your problems and struggles, you allow them to help you figure it out, you let them understand that you also are a human, and they will cut you some slack when you screw up, which you will because we all do.
Your team is your most valuable asset!
4. Value Constructive Criticism
Not only is open communication vital during adversity, but you also need to listen to your employees; they know things that you don’t; that’s just a fact.
Even if they don’t know what you’re facing, your employees can help you through difficult times. Ensure you listen when they take the time to give advice or criticism. My old teammate explained it to me in this way:
I understand why you don’t implement every idea I present, which differs from what I want. But I respect you because you always assume my ideas are worth listening to.
“I understand why you don’t implement every idea that I present, and that’s not what I want. But I respect you because you always assume that my ideas are worth listening to.”
If your employees provide honest criticism or feedback, you should be receptive because maybe, you are in a position where you can learn something new and grow as a leader.
Shifting blame onto others is never acceptable and will alienate your employees. It will also affect their trust in you as their leader. How do they know you won’t blame them when times get tough again?
You must take extreme ownership of your team and your tasks.
If you honestly own your faults and work to improve them, it will build confidence in your leadership and management skills.
5. Gather “Enough” Information
As a manager, your employees often look to you for an answer. While they may have suggestions, they will look to you for a final decision on how to proceed.
Forming a plan can mean sitting alone in your office when inspiration strikes. Organizing a creative session is the best way to get new, innovative ideas.
This session can include other managers, senior administrators, or anyone you consider a mentor. Most people in higher management have experienced similar situations before, so it is exceptionally educational to learn how they overcame adversity in their careers.
You should also organize a creative session with your employees. Bouncing ideas off each other is a great way to develop new ideas or solutions.
I want to present you with two beneficial thoughts that helped me overcome problems in my career.
Make sure you need a new idea; often, new problems can be solved with old solutions. This is far more effective since everyone knows the procedure and its limitations.
Recycle and adapt as much as possible; every new way of doing things has a “startup cost” before it pays off or even works.
Recycle and adapt as much as possible; every new way of doing things has a “startup cost” before it pays off or even works.
The following valuable tip is to understand when you have enough information to move on; you have probably been in brainstorming sessions or meetings, which continue without any end in sight.
What information do you need to take the next step? Not to necessarily solve the problem right away but to keep you moving. It would help if you avoided these situations since they tend to kill creativity, motivation, and engagement.
The final decision lies with you. Your employees will come up with fantastic ideas; it’s your responsibility to select and implement them.
6. Focus on What You Own
There are going to be many situations that managers have no control over. The company may struggle financially, or your branch is at risk of a layoff. Whatever the adversity in front of us, we should always focus on what we can control. Don’t let decisions out of your control demotivate you or your team.
I have fallen into this trap many times; when I should have focused on the team, I was busy solving strategic problems for upper management. Not only did I have minimal impact, but I also wasted a lot of energy and put myself in a bad mood.
Be as honest with your team as possible, given the situation, then focus on what you and your team own and can control. Sometimes the only thing you can control is simply showing up to work and doing your job that day. So, encourage your team to do just that.
Consistency is the key to most big achievements.
You can control how much work you get done and how productive you are. You can also manage your reaction to the situation.
How you react to adversity will become the model that your employees follow.
How you react to adversity will become the model that your employees follow.
Read more about how self-management makes you a better leader here.
7. Grab a Shovel and Start digging
One of the best things you can do as a manager is to join your team in tedious tasks.
There is a saying in the Swedish Army that goes something like this: “Dela dina soldaters börda.” This means you should join them in the most complex and challenging tasks so you can fully understand their struggles and better support them.
If you want your employees to respect and trust you, you must do more than delegate tasks and lock yourself in your office. It’s time to get your hands dirty and show your employees you will help them through difficult times.
An excellent example of this is working during a busy time. If your employees work through a staff shortage with record sales, you will get little from them by asking them to work faster or do better. Instead, show them what to do. Your employees will be more loyal to you and the company if they think you respect them and what they do.
As a leader, sometimes we forget that the best thing we can do for overwhelmed employees is to help them. So, open a register in a retail setting and take some customers. Hop on the phone to help clear the enormous queue. Show your employees that you are not above what they do. They will respect you more as a boss if you lend a helping hand.
| How To Learn From Adversity as a Leader | Description |
| Make an “Objective” Assessment of the Situation | The first step to overcoming adversity as a leader is objectively assessing the situation. This process involves stepping back from your understanding and looking at it differently. |
| Focus on Strengths | It would be best to consider how your strengths can help you through it. As a manager, you should also consider how your employees’ strengths can help the team. |
| Talk With Your Employees | Communication between managers and employees is essential in any business but becomes even more vital during adversity. During difficult times, your employees need to hear from you. |
| Value Constructive Criticism | Not only is open communication vital during adversity, but you also need to listen to your employees; they know things that you don’t; that’s just a fact. |
| Gather “Enough” Information | As a manager, your employees often look to you for an answer. While they may have suggestions, they will look to you for a final decision on how to proceed. |
| Focus on What You Own | Whatever the adversity in front of us, we should always focus on what we can control. Don’t let decisions out of your control demotivate you or your team. |
| Grab a Shovel and Start digging | If you want your employees to respect and trust you, you must do more than delegate tasks and lock yourself in your office. |
Here is a talk on how we can shift to the proper mindset in order to overcome adversity and become better individuals and leaders.
What To Do After The Challenge
One key factor that leaders sometimes forget is what they can do when adversity ends. There is more to your job as a manager than just getting your employees through tough times. It is essential to reflect on the situation and learn from it.
Learn The Lesson
First, you should communicate with your employees regarding the situation. Even if the problem is in the past, your employees will learn from reflecting on the situation.
During this conversation, allow your employees to ask questions and give honest feedback. This process can help you continue to grow as a leader. Positive feedback is easy to take and important to understand what you are doing right. Negative feedback may be challenging, but it can help you grow as a leader.
In the military, we call this a debrief; we run through the mission and summarize it so everyone has the same idea of what happened. Then we look for learning opportunities and ways to improve and prepare for the following similar situation.
The key to a successful debrief is to focus on actions, not people, what happened, and not who made it happen.
Learning from previous events is the best way to avoid repeating mistakes; at Sancus Leadership, we specialize in practical debriefs so you can focus on KPIs. When you are ready, book a FREE discovery call here!
Implement Lessons Learned
Another important step in the post-adversity process is ensuring the same situation doesn’t happen again. While some problems are unavoidable, there may be steps you can take to mitigate them or prevent future issues.
A properly executed debrief should leave you with many action steps to improve the “defense” of your business. Each step should also be prioritized by its importance and Urgency. I recommend using the Eisenhower Matrix to aid you in this process.
Scenario-test the actions with your team and implement procedures to ensure a smooth workflow and prevent future issues. This preparation will make your employees trust that you’ll be able to handle whatever comes next.
Reinforce The Wanted Behaviors
Finally, once you and your team have made it through the challenging situation, don’t forget to enjoy your win and take the time to speak clearly about the reason why you were successful.
After a tough stretch of constantly being busy or allowing your team to help you resolve the problem, show them what that means to you.
Take the time to thank your employees. I understand you can’t just give everyone a raise (I have never been in a situation where I can do that), but there are still things you can do. Fight for your team to get a bonus for good performance, or even have a Friday pizza party to show your appreciation.
One of my most valuable lessons as a team leader has been that; whatever behavior I focus on, I will get more of. That means if you identify an employee doing something you find highly beneficial and you let them know about it, they are very likely to repeat that behavior.
After a tough stretch of constantly being busy or allowing your team to help you resolve the problem, show them what that means to you.
Take the time to thank your employees. I understand you can’t just give everyone a raise (I have never been in a situation where I can do that), but there are still things you can do. Fight for your team to get a bonus for good performance, or even have a Friday pizza party to show your appreciation.
One of my most valuable lessons as a team leader has been that; whatever behavior I focus on, I will get more of. That means if you identify an employee doing something highly beneficial and tell them about it, they are very likely to repeat that behavior.
Final Thoughts
The best managers transcend into leaders when dealing with adversity. It takes a good leader to get your employees through tough times, but it takes a great leader to come out of it with more respect and trust from your employees.
While adversity can be nerve-wracking, it can also be an opportunity for growth.
