
The four Ls of emotional resilience
Tapping into your emotions can make you more resilient and more efficient in your leadership....
by Sameh Abadir, Niccolò Pisani Published 13 July 2022 in Brain circuits ⢠3 min read
One of the challenges often faced by leaders is how to handle a crisis. We have conducted extensive research and interviews with leaders across all sectors of the economy to identify what works and what doesnât in a crisis. Building on prior research on the topic, we have identified six traps that leaders can fall into in turbulent times. Often these traps are hidden, so leaders donât realize when they are getting stuck.
For todayâs exercise, ask yourself these six questions to see if you recognize any of these circumstances on your team.
Has your team become complacent? You may notice a loss of creativity or have a sense that people are starting to âgo through the motionsâ at work without really engaging. If so, they may be suffering from entrenchment syndrome. Just as soldiers in the trenches lose their will or ability to fight, teams in other scenarios can also lose focus.
Are you or others around you starting to consider things you normally wouldnât? Crisis can cause people to experience evaporating ethics. In the struggle to survive redundancy or the collapse of the business, desperate leaders can be tempted to take extreme actions, compromising ethics and purpose as base survival instincts kick in. Do you recognize this at your company?
Have you become either too caring or too daring? In times of crisis, our dominant characteristic prevails. It is important to modulate ourselves through agility.
Are you eliminating people you shouldnât? In times of crisis, the weakest can pay a heavy price. As leaders, we need to bring people with us rather than throwing them to the wolves, particularly those who are most vulnerable.
Are the right people leading your teams? Beware of toxic leaders, especially when times are tough. In a crisis, we need leaders with a high level of trust, even if they might not be the stars of high-performance delivery.Â
Are you losing connection to the people you work with? When we shift to survival mode, thereâs a danger that we lose informal relationship building. Consider how you can avoid or minimize the lack of informal human contact.Â
Further reading:Â
 Toolkit for strategic leading through a crisis by Sameh Abadir and Niccolò PisaniÂ
Adjunct Professor of Leadership and Negotiation at IMD
Sameh Abadir is Adjunct Professor of Leadership and Negotiation at IMD. He advises companies on negotiations and runs negotiation workshops in English, French and Arabic. He has recently directed custom programs for Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, JerĂłnimo Martins, ArcelorMittal, and Merck, and he is Director of IMD’s Crisis Management online program. He was Co-Director of IMDâs signature program Orchestrating Winning Performance (OWP) and Co-Director of IMDâs Negotiating for Value Creation (NVC) open programs.
IMD Professor of Strategy and International Business
Niccolò Pisani is Professor of Strategy and International Business at IMD. His award-winning research has appeared in the worldâs leading academic journals and extensively covered in the media. His work has been featured in both Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review. He has also written several popular case studies that are distributed on a global scale. He also co-directs the International Growth Strategies program.
5 December 2023 ⢠by Silke Mischke in Brain circuits
Tapping into your emotions can make you more resilient and more efficient in your leadership....
4 December 2023 ⢠by Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg in Brain circuits
Ready to recover? To create psychological safety for your team working through crises, ask yourself if you are striking the right balance as a leader ...
24 November 2023 ⢠by Ginka Toegel in Brain circuits
Women are more likely than men to think that others have lower confidence in their abilities. Find out if this applies to you â and what you can do about it....
14 November 2023 ⢠by Thomas W. Malnight, Ivy Buche in Brain circuits
As purpose-driven businesses seek to solve problems for society, they must leverage their relationships with multiple stakeholders and stay profitable. The question is: How can they achieve their social goals at the...
Explore first person business intelligence from top minds curated for a global executive audience