In this Expert Insight Interview, Eric McNulty discusses leading in turbulent times. Eric McNulty is a seasoned business writer, speaker, and thought leader. He is the author of the widely published and widely quoted book ” You’re It: Crisis, Change, and How to Lead When It Matters Most”.
This Expert Insight Interview discusses:
- The increased rate of disruption in our lives and how it is affecting leaders
- How grounding yourself can help you become a better leader
- Why stillness is the key to getting the best out of your team
Constant Disruption
It seems we will have to get used to these recurring crises of one magnitude or another coming along in more regular intervals. We had the underlying conditions for relative stability for most of the second half of the twentieth century.
As we moved into the 21st, things started to shift rapidly, from demographic changes to climate change to the rapid advance of technology, making us more tightly interconnected. We are seeing disruptions happen more frequently, and their impact is felt worldwide much more rapidly than ever before. So, we live in turbulent times, and it seems we will continue to live in them for the next several decades.
Grounding Yourself
With the fact that we live in turbulent times in mind, it is becoming an increasing challenge to lead. People have always looked to leaders for reassurance and guidance. Still, leaders are now operating with less information, less certainty, and fewer facts than ever, precisely because of how fluid day-to-day life has become.
It isn’t easy to be a successful leader when you need to pivot and adapt at any given moment, but you can do it if you ground yourself. You can ground yourself in your values through basic practices like meditative breathing, which will calm down your heart rate. The idea is to get your feet on the ground and feel solid.
Stillness
Once you’ve “come out of the emotional basement” produced by the latest crisis, you want to begin to take action and help your team also ground themselves in this way. The best way to do this is to ensure people feel engaged and productive because once you feel productive, the panic response goes away.
The first things that people look for in a leader are confidence and stillness. If you’re panicking as a leader, everyone around you will panic. So, settle yourself down, settle down your team, and figure out what you can do about the situation.
Our Host
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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