A CEO is like an aircraft pilot. It's a difficult job that's not for everyone. Even in a normal environment, being the pilot is a difficult task. That's why there is a co-pilot.
However, leading an organisation in today's challenging environment -- popularly dubbed the New Normal -- is like flying an aircraft through turbulence. The pilot and co-pilot need support from everyone else in the crew.
Being a CEO is a lonely job. People at the top might wish their more support from employees but don't want to jeopardise morale, so many don't often express what's on their minds.
Here are my observations based on my interactions with CEOs about how they would like their employees to respond during tough times.
1. Align themselves with the organisation's vision, mission and core values.
2. Focus on the real priorities.
3. Adapt to the New Normal work-life balance.
4. Be more energetic.
5. Be a high performer on a larger team.
6. Work well in a cross-functional way to overcome the silo mentality.
Let's look at each one:
1. Alignment: Each business has its own life cycle. There are good days and bad days. Most strong organisations will prevail in tough times. One reason is that they have a clear vision, mission and core values. If you work in such an organisation, ensure that you really understand these well and align yourself accordingly.
Why? Lack of alignment can be a drag on momentum. Some people who misunderstand what their organisation stands for might even start rumours that damage the morale of the others.
2. Focus on the real priorities: Lots of people try to come up with new initiatives. But during tough times, good organisations stay focused. They want to do the core things right. Ensure that your work is absolutely aligned with the real priorities of the organisation. Check with your direct boss, and if he seems to be straying from the priorities, be assertive ad remind him.
3. Adapt to the New Normal work-life balance: Most people define work-life balance as 50% of each. I don't have a magic number, but each person has to satisfy the needs of "stakeholders" both at work and home. You can come up with a number that suits your needs and theirs. There may be some compromise in your personal life. In that case, you need to communicate well with those who might feel disappointed by the imbalance.
4. Be more energetic: During tough times, you have to truly show commitment and urgency. If everyone feels committed and urgent inside but outwardly displays a cool attitude, others might perceive that everything is cool, with no worries.
Hence, from time to time, we have to demonstrate energy and alertness to the situation. We can show it by walking faster and acting more urgently when things demand attention. Don't be afraid to laugh, but not too much. Show up for meetings ahead of time and well prepared.
If the majority of people demonstrate an active approach, people will have a sense of urgency. Once we prevail, we can get the good old days back. Right now we need to be alert and energetic.
5. Be a high performer on a larger team: For those of you who are already high performers, it's time to support your team. You can coach and mentor people outside your unit as well. You can volunteer for change initiatives or ad-hoc projects. Most people perceive that they are members of their unit or department team. But you are part of the larger organisation, your team is larger than your unit or department. Hence, if your small team is already doing well, expand your teamwork approach to extend a hand to others.
6. Work well cross-functionally: Most organisations still have a silo mentality rooted in old structures. Instead of waiting for a restructuring, which might never come, you can work cross-functionally by taking an informal approach. This is useful especially when speed is needed or when problems occur.
If you follow a "business as usual" workflow, usually it takes time for results to work their way up and down the hierarchy. But if you put more effort into following up and reaching out informally to selected people, your work will be done much faster. Don't kick everything up to the CEO. Spare his or her time for more critical tasks. The more people follow these steps, the more effective the organisation will be.
Kriengsak Niratpattanasai provides executive coaching in leadership and diversity management under the brand TheCoach. He can be reached at coachkriengsak@yahoo.com. Daily inspirational quotations can be found on his Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/TheCoachinth. Previous articles are archived at http://thecoach.in.th