When the stakes are high, emotions are strong, and the path forward isn’t clear, it’s easy for leaders to feel the pressure, hunker down, and try to avoid facing difficult questions and conversations.
Yet when everything is on the line – that’s when employees want their leaders to step up.
The 4th Quarter playbook is a challenging one: It requires different leadership strategies and techniques than when plans are on track, and you have 9-12 months to achieve your goals.
To encourage your team to make a final year-end push and manage the 4th quarter pressures, it requires being more than likeable, enthusiastic, caring, empathetic, etc. And, if done correctly, it can also give you the opportunity to jump start enthusiasm, interest and commitment for your 2025 plans.
Begin by assessing how your team came into the 4th quarter: How tired and stressed are they? Are they having to overcome a lack of resources? Are layoffs going to make a significant change to your team? Are there internal issues creating obstacles and distractions? And how are they handling the pressures about their promotability, year-end reviews, the fear of layoffs – plus the added stressors from uncertain world events?
Next, consider implementing these ideas for amplifying your 4th Quarter leadership:
Clarify Your Own Leadership Presence
- Leadership presence starts with knowing your purpose – what is your “why” for the work that you do, your role and within your industry.- “Put your own oxygen mask on first” by attending to your own self-management – understand and address your own emotions, behaviors and default thinking that may hijack your intentions and efforts.
Invest in Relationship Building
- Even if you only have a few minutes between meetings – get into conversations that go beyond selling your ideas.- Look for your shared perspectives and beliefs among your team members and colleagues; show your appreciation for their viewpoints and contributions.
Promote and Support Self-resilience in Others
- Share your past experiences and how you’ve dealt with similar stress and uncertainty, and who inspired you to strengthen your resilience.
- Ask questions to give others the opportunity to find their own clarity and help them realize how resilient they already are.
Engage in Dialogue and Conversation
- Conversation differs from normal business communication. Dialogue and conversation allow people to get to know and like you better, reduce stress, and build stronger connections.- Ground your communication in facts, minimize corporate jargon and “informalize” your conversation – using jargon and sticking to key messages makes people tune out and implies want to keep your distance.
Communicate in new ways – Be open to new perspectives
- Change the cadence and tone of your communication. This is the time to provide present moment, reality-based communication, and demonstrate your business expertise and leadership.
- Don’t shy away from tackling the hard questions. If necessary, seek out training to deal with “crucial conversations” – where the stakes are high, emotions run strong, and opinions vary.
If you’d like support for implementing any of these techniques, DM me at: sayre@sayre-darling.com.
For more information check out:
“Future-Ready Leadership, Strategies for the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” © by Chris R. Groscurth, Ph.D., 2018, AB-CLIO, LLC
“Crucial Conversations, Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High,” © by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, 2002, McGraw-Hill
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