Crisis demands leadership. A leadership which goes beyond the obvious, which looks beyond the horizon and which makes choices in the present.

One would assume – the eternal optimistic leader will overcome this crisis. Steadfast in his hope for a better future – he will rise against all odds. 

Here’s what I found: Optimistic leaders fail in crisis situations. And here’s why:

I came across this interesting concept called Stockdale Paradox. Some of you may be aware of it. 

Stockdale was a former high – ranking naval officer during the Vietnam War. He was held captive as a prisoner of war for over 7 years and was tortured like numerous others. 

Well, what would you do if you were Stockdale? He did survive the war and he did come out to share his story. So, he must have been a super-optimistic guy right?

Turns out – he was never optimistic.

In his interview with Jim Collins in the book ‘Good to Great’ he shares that while optimists died, he survived because he did two things: accept brutal reality and have faith in survival.

All business leaders, all organizations, all of us – are in this situation today. We have a choice to be an optimist and say “hey things will get better soon” or we have a choice to accept the brutal facts of reality and maintain a resolute faith in our end game. Case in fact: Andrew Cuomo – the New York Governor – who states brutal facts and defines actionables clearly every day

Some of us will be pessimistic – turning every event into a dire situation; while others will read too much positivity – being more generous than you can actually afford to be.

Crisis demands realistic leaders who can be transparent, tell the team what they need to know and share the action plan clearly – who does what.

People, teams and organisations that will survive this crisis have to embrace these two dualities like Stockdale:

• Face the harsh reality
• Commit to overcome

We have managed to impact 250 participants with our programs successfully online. One question on everyone’s mind is “Are companies still investing in developing their employees?” 

And the answer is ‘Yes’. The realistic companies are using this time to equip their teams with skills that will help them. Your team needs problem solvers, finishers, resource gatherers, executors etc. for you to prevail. 

Here’s a list of our programs that can enable your team: 

• Problem Solving Yoda – Equip them with 12 problem solving skills to tide over this crisis
• Shape your Hi-Performance team – Get your teams to synergize, know each others’ de-railers and how they can move faster together
• WFH Ninja – Get your team to improve their WFH productivity by over 1 hour a day

Happy to have a conversation with you to help you overcome these tough times.