LEADERSHIP – WHEN IT MATTERS MOST 
John Maxwell Webinar
April 6th 9:00 a.m.
Summarized by: Jeanie Cash
| INTRODUCTION |
| When a crisis happens, we are never the same. The question is, “Are we better or worse because of it? Are we going to be swept away or swim upstream?”A crisis shows who the real leaders are. Crisis separates the pretenders from the players and there is no playbook to help us. |
| IMPORTANT LEADERSHIP BEHAVIORS DURING A CRISIS |
| CRISIS LEADERS UNDERSTAND CONTEXT |
| A leader’s communication is critical during a crisis. It’s like a trained fighter pilot who operates by OODA. (Observe, Options, Decide, Act) A leader must observe the context, explore their options, make wise decisions and act). Three important behaviors in understanding context: awareness – openness, understanding, listening to all perspectives and then blend them all anticipation – trust your intuition; gifted leaders are intuitive and have a strong sense of timing. agility – ability to be flexible; plan ABC, but go to EFG if neededA crisis leader looks at the whole picture in order to lead with maturity |
| CRISIS LEADERS EMBRACE GOOD VALUES. |
| Lead with values, not pressure. This is a serious crisis with a lot of fear and fear makes a crisis more severe. Leaders must have emotional stability. We have lost a lot of core values. Research tells us that current values are: acceptance, comfort, continual expression, freedom, entertainment, entitlement and happiness. Solid values are values like commitment, courage, contribution, loyalty, competency, attitude, honesty. Be the leader for others that you with you had. Put people first. |
| CRISIS LEADERS COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY |
| Crisis leaders inspire confidence in the people. They communicate HOPE. Winston Churchill went through fifty-one 9/11’s. Bomb after bomb, he would walk the streets the next morning and inspire hope for the future. |
| CRISIS LEADERS THINK CREATIVELY |
| There is always an answer. With GOOD fear, we prepare. When fear gets the best of us (BAD fear), we avoid. When we are faced with situations that seem to have impossible solutions, we have to ask, “What good thing is going to come from this?” COVID-19 IS A CRISIS, but we need to model GOOD fear. Fear hides possibilities. We can’t allow ourselves to fertilize negative thoughts. Two Questions: 1) What would I love to do right now since I have more time? 2) What SHOULD I do now that I have more time? |
| CRISIS LEADERS EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY |
| People need to hear from a humble leader who says, “ I need you!” Put people first. Be able to look back when this is over and say, “I did my best!” |
| CONCLUSION |
| Those who do well in crisis focus on constructive change. Crisis causes huge distractions. Take the dis away and you have actions. If you are asked to reflect on the most important lesson you have learned in life, it will always take you to a period in your life when things were not going well. Wisdom is always extracted from adversity. We learn the greatest lessons in our biggest disappointments and in our darkest valleys. A leader never has the luxury of having all the right answers. No matter how good a leader we are, we understand that we don’t have all the answers. We must depend on others, our faith and our wisdom. It’s not the number of items on our “To Do” list that matter – it’s the weight of those items. One good thing weighs more than one bad thing. The best thing we “CAN DO” during this time is to “DO PEOPLE – DO RELATIONSHIPS!” |