How to Lead Change in Turbulent Times

Unless you have been inundated lately, you know that the economy and business world have been in a state of uncertainty. The economic growth engines are slowing around the globe as the financial and real estate markets continue to fluctuate with unseen volatility. This only increases the challenges to leaders having to contend with constant change. Complexity and change also present unprecedented opportunities to lead in such a turbulent time. To lead change in this environment requires an open mind and an open heart.

An open mind allows you to see where you are going and understand the roadblocks along the way. Without an open mind, you remain fixed in the past with anxiety limiting your ability to navigate uncertain times. With an open mind you can embrace change with excitement, inspiration and resilience. An open mind includes three internal capabilities: self-awareness, lifelong learning and lack of attachment.

To lead others you must know yourself. Self-awareness enables you to emphasize your strengths when dealing with uncertainty in the midst of change. Lifelong learning feeds the mind and allows you to continue to grow. This helps to find new solutions to problems and to face adversity in difficult times. If you want to lead change, you must leave the status quo behind. You must monitor your personal attachments so you can move beyond limiting behavior patterns.

An open heart allows you to transform your internal desire into energy needed to lead the change. A leader with an open heart displays honesty, empathy and emotional resilience. This provides an environment where others feel safe to express their concerns freely with fear of retaliation. This creates a path to progress for both leaders and their teams by turning the energy from emotions into production. There will be ups and downs so emotional resilience is important to recover from downturns. It is resilience that allows you to get back up after you have been knocked to the ground. The winner is the one that gets up one more time than the competition.

Today leadership is about leading through uncertainty and constant change. Success will depend on how you deal with the anxiety and complexity of change. It is maintaining your optimism while confronting humility. Being realistic is all about seeking and speaking the truth starting with being honest about whom you are and the circumstances you are dealing. You must believe that tomorrow will be better than today.

To lead with an open mind and heart, you must ask for feedback and not be afraid of what you will hear. People know they can count on true leaders to tell it like it is and to follow through on their commitments. The best principle may be to be brutally honest about what's going on - what you do well, what you don't do well and where your work is still unfinished.

The open leader engages their team to take risks while challenging them to a higher level of performance, stretching beyond what seems possible. It is mastering the rubber band. If you pull too hard, you will break your team's spirit. If you don't pull hard enough, you will never reach your full potential. But if you happen to find the right tension, amazing thing can happen.