I can still remember the day, many years ago, when I was provided the opportunity to ‘officially’ become a leader – my General Manager phoned me late one afternoon to offer me the position of Sales Manager. I can recall as if it was yesterday the excitement of the role and the anticipation of what lay ahead. I had been working towards this role for the previous 18 months and was so grateful that the opportunity had been provided to me – I was determined to do my very best to not only impress and earn the respect of my General Manager, I was also determined to earn the trust and respect of my team. I could not wait to get started.
The first 12 months in the role was anything but smooth sailing – in fact it was filled with challenge after challenge. As I look back now, I think I was somewhat naive, particularly with regards to the role and the expectations that I placed on myself to perform, especially at the beginning. Whilst I had been a successful sales person and had been preparing myself for the leadership role, I hadn’t as yet actually performed the role of Sales Manager, and I was expecting everything to roll smoothly. When it didn’t, especially early on, I found it quite challenging to overcome, and to keep moving forward.
If it wasn’t for my General Manager, who also performed the critical role of mentor, I don’t think I would have got through the first 12 months, let alone establish a passion for sales leadership that continues to grow to this day – I am so grateful to him. During that first 90 days of my sales leadership tenure, my General Manager was constantly checking in on me, keeping me accountable, challenging me as well as acting as a sounding board. However, there was one conversation that we shared during that time that had such a profound impact, that I believe it was the catalyst that really kickstarted my sales leadership career – and it was a conversation about adversity.
He shared with me that in leadership, as in life, not everything is going to be smooth sailing, and despite your best intentions, not everything you touch will turn to gold. Whilst you can plan and prepare exceptionally well, Murphy’s Law is bound to strike at some point, and often, when you least expect it. So when adversity does strike, how you deal with it will go along way to determining your ability to lead others, as well as planting the seeds that will someday become your leadership legacy. He shared with me numerous examples of people (both famous and non-famous), who had to deal with adversity when it struck, and through the experience, were able to shape their future and develop their character and their career. And through the conversation, he provided me with the following guiding principles to keep in mind and tap into when adversity strikes :
- What is the lesson here? He said that ‘stuff’ is always going to happen, and whilst we are not always able to control what happens to us, there is one thing we can control, and that is our ability to respond to what happens to us. He said that if we are able to take responsibility for what happens to us, we can then develop the personal power to respond. We are then in a strong position to seek and identify the lesson that is often hidden within the adversity, to identify the seed of opportunity that when fertilised and watered, will enable us to become a stronger and wiser leader. So when adversity strikes, search for and identify the lesson that is there for you to learn from.
- Continue to reinvent yourself. This is about developing multiple dimensions to your leadership toolkit and identifying & creating choices to select from when adversity strikes. Ideally you would be best placed to identify various choices ahead of any adversity striking, as it will provide you with a higher level of behavioural flexibility when adversity does strike, and allow you to move forward with a higher degree of confidence. Do some work upfront, develop some choices, and know that when adversity does strike, you can draw upon your multiple dimensions.
- Become curious, rather than mad. When adversity does strike, rather than getting mad and reacting to it, become curious, perhaps even channelling the curiosity of a 5 year old child, and allow yourself to put the adversity into perspective. As Jim Rohn used to say when he was faced with adversity, ‘Isn’t that interesting…’. Whilst this approach may not solve the problem or make the adversity go away, it will enable you to put the adversity into perspective and combined with the previous 2 principles, allow you to deal with it in a professional way.
- Understand that adversity is inevitable. There is an old saying that goes along the lines of ‘pain and adversity is inevitable – suffering & wallowing is optional’. This is all about attitude. If you are able to maintain a positive and empowering attitude, you will be very well placed to be able to deal with the adversity in an effective manner, not only for yourself, but also for your people. Constantly check your attitude, and ensure it is positive and empowering.
- Call upon your internal resources. There is a principle that is used in coaching that states that you already possess the internal resources required to overcome any challenge or adversity – so when faced with adversity, call upon those resources such as courage, emotional strength, resilience and discipline, and move forward with faith. You may even surprise yourself with how much progress you make.
- Utilise your external resources. Do not be afraid to call upon your external resources to assist you in dealing with adversity, including mentors, role models, family, friends and key stakeholders. The people closest to you are always looking out for you and will only be too willing to assist you, so do not be afraid to ask for help.
The above 6 principles have been instrumental in my ability to be able to handle adversity throughout my leadership career, as well as being able to handle adversity in my private life as well. We all live our lives through contrast – in order to appreciate the good things, we need to understand and experience some not so good things; to understand light, we must understand darkness. As a leader, know that adversity will strike at some point, it is inevitable. However, if you are prepared, you will be well equipped to deal with it when it strikes and in the process, set an empowering example for your team and your people.
To your ongoing leadership success.
Darren
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About : Darren is an Executive Coach, Leadership Consultant, Trainer, Facilitator, Speaker. A passionate and driven individual specialising in personal development, strategic planning, coaching for advocacy & enhanced performance, situational and servant based leadership, executive coaching of people leaders, emerging leaders and ‘high potential’ individual contributors within the Enterprise & Government market, personal change management, and strategic workshop facilitation & training.
