How a CEO inspires people in tough times

How a CEO inspires people in tough times

'Coach Kriengsak, how do I inspire my team in tough times?" Pradit asks me.

"Khun Pradit, can you be more specific?"

"My business unit's performance so far this year has not been as good as we'd planned," he explains. "Looking ahead, we won't achieve this year's targets. My teams are young and inexperienced. They've never been in a situation before where they've missed their targets by so much. Some of them have started to get nervous. I worry that they will spread their discouragement to the team members below them and morale will suffer."

"I hear you, Khun Pradit. You have a situation that concerns you, but what do you really want to achieve?"

"Coach, I want my team to develop the good spirit needed to fight together in these tough times."

"What options do you have?"

"I've thought of several ideas. Perhaps I can share them with you first, then we can prioritise them."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," I say and smile.

"I have three plans:

- maintain the target and continue do our best;

- reduce the target to be more realistic;

- maintain the target and change our action plans."

"Khun Pradit, what's your preferred option?"

"Coach, in fact I favour using two options at the same time," he tells me. "First, I want to maintain the target and change our action plans first. This is an option that I will work on with my team. At the same time, I'll work with my boss in the regional office to reduce our goals to be more realistic. I'll monitor the business very closely. Next month, I might change my plan again depending on the environment and how my team copes with it."

"Okay Khun Pradit. Now can you give more thought to the details?"

"First, I will communicate with the regional office today. Then I will call a 'town hall' meeting next week. In that meeting, I'll tell the staff what the situation is, and what our challenges will be.

"Then I'll tell them that if we continue doing what we've been doing, we won't achieve our targets. But I believe there will be an opportunity for us to achieve the goals if we can come up with some creative action plans. On that part, our senior management people need to think together.

"Then I will lead the senior management team to come up with the creative action plans.

"What do you think, Coach?"

"I buy your idea. In addition to that, I have some questions."

"Shoot, Coach!"

"How often do you hold town hall meetings?"

"We haven't done one before. I learned about it from a friend in another company."

"Okay, what do you expect your staff to walk away from the town hall meeting with?"

"I want them to know what's going on, what will happen, what they need to do."

"Okay Khun Pradit, that's the context. What do you expect your people to feel after the event?"

"I want them to be inspired. I want them to have hope that our company is in good shape, we are in tough times and we will fight together. There will be a bright future waiting for everyone."

"Okay, what do you need to do to make it happen the way you expected?"

"My plan is for me and the other six EVPs to give short presentations of ten minutes each. Each presentation will include an update on the situation, action plans and an inspirational message from each EVP."

"How good they are at inspirational speeches?"

"Only two are good. The other four are just moderate public speakers."

"How do you plan to help them?"

"I will have to coach them and rehearse with them. Oh! In that case, I'll have to ask them to come for preparation and rehearsal over the weekend."

"Khun Pradit, what else do you want to prepare?"

"Coach, I follow your Facebook fan page. There are several inspiration quotes you've collected. Can you share with me some of them that are appropriate to my situation now?"

"Of course! Here are some of them:"

- "Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom." _George Patton

- "Restlessness is discontent, and discontent is the first necessity of progress." _Thomas Edison

- "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." _Albert Einstein

- "The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." _Winston Churchill

- "One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interests." _John Stuart Mill

- "Falling down is how we grow. Staying down is how we die." _Brian Vaszily

- "Men may move mountains, but ideas move men." _Lois McMaster Bujold

- "We must look for the opportunity in every difficulty, instead of being paralysed at the thought of the difficulty in every opportunity." _Walter E. Cole.


Kriengsak Niratpattanasai provides executive coaching in leadership and diversity management under TheCoach brand. 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

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