COMMENT: Tough times will put leadership skills to the ultimate test

Leadership is a difficult art during good times, but all the more so during uncertain ones. The true requisites of a leader - vision, passion, knowledge, and excellent communications skills - are tested like never before in the face of recession, layoffs, downgraded performance results, and political uncertainty. We can think of leadership as the dual ability to create and articulate a vision and to motivate the people who can make that vision a reality. Rallying people to a leader's cause is impossible without empathy, team building skills and persuasive communication. So how do we lead in this difficult time, knowing how important communication is? Many of the principles are exactly those we apply in our work for clients, but often neglect to follow in our own business. In Asia Pacific, the Grey Global Group has developed what we call the 7As. They are: - Accept that without regular communication to our key audiences, we won't get share of mind for our vision and our goals. This is a time of high distraction, ranging from concern over job security to downward sloping sales figures. - Anticipate what key business messages are likely to be by projecting various business scenarios, from mildly negative and worst case scenarios to optimistic outcomes. - Analyse and understand internal and external audiences and what their likely reaction to these messages will be - as well as the appropriate response. - Adopt an integrated means of conveying key messages. Consider the range of communication tools that are available. What's the best mix to reach targets most effectively? - Act fast when conveying key messages. If there is bad news, as Warren Buffet once said, "... get it right, get it out and get if over ... your problem won't improve with age." Equally, it's important to convey and celebrate good news whenever one can. - Availability is critical. All leaders need to be available to audiences for discussion about the messages they convey, and have an appropriate spokesperson in place when they are not. Discussion needs to be a two-way street: feedback on how messages are being received - from board members to junior staff - is essential for refining messages, just as we do for clients. - Approachability: None of the above steps will work effectively without the essential quality of approachability, and the path to approachability begins by putting people first. Nothing wins people more than honesty and empathy. Leaders who effectively communicate have done every thing they can to protect the interests of their key constituencies and will always fare better than those who don't. Leadership during these difficult times doesn't need to be a burden. Leading effectively offers a huge opportunity to secure the long-term loyalty of key constituencies - and the success of your business.

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