Organizational Article
Organizational Leadership Blog Post

Turbulent times, as we have in recent years, are quite problematic and challenging for corporate and executive leaders in businesses, governments, and organizations with strategic missions. Yet, what leaders and leadership teams do in turbulent times speak to the quality of their leadership and the character of their teams, businesses, governments or organizations. How leaders handle themselves, what they see as critical mission, and how they lead in turbulent times, would impact on the outcomes their teams, businesses, governments or organizations have.
Psychological abdication may be a cop out but it is not the route for any responsible leader, particularly a leader who is purpose-driven and has a strategic mission. The burden of leadership, strategic leadership if you please,—particularly leading high performing teams in turbulent and discontinuous times— should be embraced by executive and corporate leaders of teams, businesses, governments, and organizations.
The fact that they are leaders means that they have the burden of maintaining the strategc vision and showing the way to those who look up to them in their work—and strategic groups, teams, businesses, governments or organizations. Their leadership, particularly in adversities, and significantly, the right type of leadership, is what their stakeholders expect. It is what advances the intrinsic character and value of their teams, businesses, governments or organizations.

In troubled times, executive leaders—and the executive leadership team—need to exercise psychological detachment and strategic focus. They cannot afford to be consumed by the situational dissonance and business-climatic anomie that turbulent times breed. They should take a social, mental, emotional, cognitive, and intellectual distance from the pressing challenges and prevailing turbulence—while keeping and maintaining a calm perspective and focus on the strategic vision and mission of their teams, businesses, organizations or governments.
Leadership training should involve that leadership development organizations, or executive leadership teams, demonstrate to leaders how to deconsrtuct the crises of the day or the times, and reflexively examine, integrate, and reposition the facts and metrics that address how success and performance of their teams, businesses, governments or organizatins are—or should be—measured.
A demonstrated capacity and internal poise to objectively and strategically look at circumstantial issues and facts with a fresh pair of eyes would be a key success factor. Identifying and recommitting key resources for strategic re-alignment and fostering engagements that strengthen strategic coherence and effective functional interdependencies across the board should be mainstream,—and a mainstay—of organizational life.