Being real about it… Successful Leaders understand that these are very challenging times. We all are witnessing a great deal of uncertainty, unknowns and quite a few “unbelievables” that keep lingering about us and could certainly still be ahead of us. What is important is that a leader, “do what has to be done” to keep things together and to keep things going until there is more certainty for longterm leading and planning.

You might say, “How do I lead others in this current business and work environment of shortages, limited resources, increase costs, misallocated talents, automation, social media influences, hybrid work environments and long hours?” With so much changing and so many variations, no one has the answer that would be appropriate for everyone’s situation. However, experience tells us there are a few basic things Successful Leaders can do to manage and have sustainable success at meeting short-term or immediate business goals and objectives:

1. Be intentional and precise about the tasks you assign to others. Be flexible enough to accept or adopt new and innovative ideas that could or should work to produce better outcomes.. In other words, give clear directives and allow for others to be creative which will allow those you lead to do their best work. A leader might assign a task and then ask: “How might we accomplish the task in a different way using new tech or a different process?” Allow for a work environment of micro-accomplishments through measure risk taking. A leader might say and ask: “We are looking for a new solutions; how about if we try something new and different this time? Let’s take a chance and do it your way this time?”
   

1. Allow others to give you feedback on what they are doing and what they planning to do to help meet the business objectives at hand. In fact, ask for the feedback in a welcoming way. When everything seems to be urgent and important, everything probably is a priority but only one task can be worked on at one time. One of the key leadership tasks of Successful Leaders in this type of work environment is the coordination of everyone’s work effort to optimize a successful and timely outcome. Without a system in place for timely feedback, those you lead could end up working on the wrong task at the wrong time and that could be problematic in so many ways. Short term tasking requires that quality “one on one”communications are performed on a frequent and scheduled basis. A dashboard that mutually monitors workflow can be helpful.
   

1. Celebrate when a task is done, add a special meaning to the moment by sharing the importance and purpose of the work that has recently been accomplished. Successful Leaders know by acknowledging a good work effort to get a task done right and on schedule is how a leader ultimately shows respect to those they lead. It’s an essential motivitator during tough times. Celebrate often and whenever you can with an authentic acknowledgment of “thanks.” It makes work enjoyable when you can relax a little to share thoughts and expressions of admiration for everyone working individually and collectively to achieve a common goal during difficult times.
   

What has to be done, has to be done and the leader is responsible for making it happen. Be intentional and assign tasks accordingly, allow for quality feedback on what is being done and then celebrate often when successful work is completed. If you do this as a leader, you will have no problem doing what has to be done when it needs to be done!

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