By Vishal Sunak
Nobody is immune from economy-fueled anxiety, least of all leaders in a sector that’s seeing companies big and small downsize. There is little doubt the year ahead will be tough for you, your customers, and your partners. It will also test your friends and employees, plus other business leaders you know.
While we can’t prevent the turbulence of the outside world from entering our companies, we can still be a stabilizing force. Bringing calm to work when our employees are reading headlines (or hearing from friends and industry colleagues) each day about our industry being hit hard with layoffs is easier said than done. But that is why we’re at the helm—because we’re capable and committed to leading no matter what the external climate brings.
My advice to you: Expect the unexpected, be grateful, and stay hungry. Here are four ways you should think about leadership in 2023.
Manage for uncertainty
Right now, there’s plenty of economic uncertainty, and the best thing you can do is focus on what’s in your control. Spending time fretting over outcomes you can’t control won’t help you or your business move forward. Resist the temptation to give in to the uncontrollable aspects of running a company.
Remember, you’re only in charge of half the equation, and there will always be external forces you can’t control. For instance, businesses are taking longer to decide what products, services, and programs they will put resources toward for their organization. Every purchasing decision is more thoughtful (and skeptical), making it harder to close new customers. You can’t control extended, in-depth evaluation processes. But there are plenty of elements and opportunities directly within your control.
Countless external factors may influence your business, but you can become more efficient by refining and improving internal processes and your product, to earn the trust of prospects and deliver results for customers.
Redefine success and lead with gratitude
As the company’s leader, it’s your job to redefine success.
If you’re going to survive this downturn, set the example of operating with gratitude. When times are tough, you can let it get you down or find new, meaningful ways to measure and recognize success. Your framework has to adapt; it can’t be the same as when the economy was booming and revenue goal attainment was the main topic. Focus on sharing the critical wins and success stories that unite your team and further your business. Just because you may not have celebrated these moments or victories in the past does not mean you shouldn’t take pride in them moving forward.
Every day there are successes inside your company. Find silver linings.
Did your company attend a trade show that went superbly? You may have made significant connections with customers or prospects. Maybe your marketing team created a fantastic new video. Perhaps a key product feature that was on the roadmap finally shipped. Your high performers need good news to validate further that your organization is the best place for them to stay.
Presenting yourself from a position of hustle and positivity sends the right message. To do this, it is essential to recognize effort in addition to results. You’re a protector and enabler that will help your teams succeed. Give your employees positive things to consider.
This year will be an excellent time to have a gratitude mindset and appreciate that, even though things are hard, you have the opportunity to be here, running your business.
Stay scrappy
Now is the time to look inward and consider how you got your business this far. You can’t beat yourself up about factors out of your control, but you should still strive to work with pace, precision, and motivation. It’s good practice to begin thinking about the state of your business and the world in terms of 30 days, not 90 days.
Teams are waking up to the fact that business survival is no longer guaranteed. That’s the harsh reality of the economy now.
Remind them of when you all shared a collaboration space or were a jack-of-all-trades before you had a vast team to call on. Remind them of how hard you all worked for those first deals. How you’ve always known how to hustle.
Again, this is a practice of positivity and gratitude. You grew your company from an idea to an institution and that scrappiness will serve you well this year.
Protect your mindset
You will have to make challenging decisions that test your mindset. Most people avoid making hard decisions, which means you, the leader, often have to be the one to do it. You can be a sharp, scrappy business leader who still demonstrates compassion and generosity.
I work with a mindset coach who helps me regulate my response to negative situations and circumstances, keeping focus on the big milestone ahead. In business, you have to be proactive instead of a victim.
It’s a hard time for everyone and, as leaders, we must continue looking forward and preparing for the challenges ahead to position our organizations for success. Pushing through the next year may require some novel approaches to leadership you didn’t need when the economic seas were steady.
Vishal Sunak is chief executive officer and cofounder of LinkSquares.
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