Dont Waste This Crisis

With these extreme changes it is only natural that it has an impact on your own self-confidence and collectively on the confidence of your clients. One of the things I'm sure of even with all the uncertainty we're facing in the changing global economy is that in five or ten years we will look back on this time and see that it was when great fortunes were made. Unfortunately for most it will be only in hindsight that we see that the opportunities were boundless and right in front of our noses, if only we were willing to look.

The intention of this article is to offer a way to see things from a different perspective in order to capture the boundless opportunities, boost your own confidence, and more importantly communicate and boost the confidence of your clients and prospects. Don't waste this crisis. Uncover the opportunities.

The economy is and has always been built on trust and confidence. There is an open exchange and cooperation that leads to that trust and confidence. When the system breaks down, it leaves everyone feeling aimless and isolated, which is what we are witnessing all over the United States and in fact globally. The way out of this crisis is to understand our roll as leaders in our industries, communities, and families and to always communicate powerfully. One of our most important roles is to bring optimism, confidence, and a positive perspective.

To maximize leadership requires utilizing what we call the Three C's of Leadership.

Choice

The Three C's of Leadership start with "Choice". In any given situation, whether good or bad, we always have a choice on how we see it. Most often circumstances are out of our control. We can only control our perspective, which is easy when times are good. When a situation is challenging, it is more difficult, but the choice on how we see things is still ours. It is easy to get swayed by "group think" and accept the opinions of others as fact. As one of my good friends says, there is a big difference between an opinion and a verdict. Choice happens in a fraction of a second. It is a fork in the road. To the right, there is a sense of panic, lack of trust and lack of confidence. To the left, there is a positive perspective, confidence and lots of opportunities. This one choice will dictate how we handle any situation, how we speak about it, how we view it, and how we communicate it to others. Right now, economic challenges are pervasive and real for many, and the ability to see things in a positive light will test our mettle. But we are always tested to see difficult situations with confidence and optimism. We make these same choices with difficult health issues, financial concerns, or even family challenges. A client of mine shared a story about a maintenance man in his apartment building. This man makes approximately $35,000 a year in New York, (which I think we can all agree would make it a challenge to live in the big city); yet everyday when asked "how's it going?" he would tell my client, "Life is great. I am so lucky. I live in the sweet spot, the best city in the world!"

Let's look at what is happening right now. We have the choice where we can say "This is a horrible thing. Oh my God the sky is falling! What are we going to do now? We will never get back on track or re-coup what has been lost." Certainly you can operate from this point of view, or you can choose to see things differently. "You know what, these things have happened. My clients lost some money, and I'm certainly not generating the same amount of revenue I used too. However my clients didn't lose all of their money, I have an opportunity to lead my clients, my friends and colleagues through this crisis". You choose where to focus your energy, you choose "Life is great. I am so lucky."

It is important to emphasize that making the choice to see things from a different, more positive perspective has nothing to do with denying what is happening or putting your head in the sand. The choice has to be made in the face of real circumstances. When you choose to focus on what's working and how to move forward, then and only then will you become a true leader. I'm not suggesting this is an easy thing to do. In fact that leads us into the second of the three C's.

Commitment

When you are faced with challenges and obstacles in communication, such as having to tell someone that they just lost 40% of their investments, it is never fun.

When you make the commitment to see things from a different point of view over and over again it allows you to focus on how to move forward and perhaps more importantly how your clients can move forward.

It's critical to continually look for things that are working and places where you can feel a sense of optimism. There will always be some other circumstance, another obstacle which will challenge the commitment you made to see things from a different point of view. You will continually be tested. It will require you to remind yourself "I'm committed to seeing things differently". So when you do have to tell a client that they have lost 40% of their investments, what do you say? How about having an honest conversation about what the "real' situation is they're facing and forming some strategies to move forward. Also how about focusing on the 60% that they did not lose and how that can be best maximized?

These conversations will call upon you to be even better at what you do. It calls upon you to grow professionally in a way you haven't been called upon before. By reaffirming your commitment to see things differently you will generate your greatest capability, which happens to be the third C of leadership.

Capability

Being a leader in these times of turmoil is really about providing insight, wisdom, and sharing your confidence. During these times, you do not have the luxury of letting your self-confidence wane. People are relying on you! Take a look at your competition right now. How are they reacting to this crisis? Are they keeping their head down and ducking for cover? Napoleon once said "Never interrupt your enemy when they are making a mistake." So while your competition are not paying attention or are being paralyzed by the negativity of the situation, don't interrupt them! Take advantage and operate differently.