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When you think of becoming a leader, are you really ready for tough leadership moments? Some people are propelled into a leadership role without even thinking they want it. Others step forward during tough moments and show their leadership ability. Yet, in both cases, they may not be ready for most of the tough leadership moments they will face.

Tough Leadership Moments: Are You Really Ready for These? Image by James Halliday via Flickr Creative Commons License.

Image by James Halliday via Flickr Creative Commons License.

Prepare for These Tough Leadership Moments

You might think that formal leadership training would prepare you for most leadership challenges. Well, training can give you a base to build on. Yet when you do get a leadership title, you also get a surprise. You have to find the leadership within you! So does that mean there is no way to prepare? No it doesn’t mean that. If you become a leadership learner from this moment on, you can be more ready for the tough challenges.

Start reading and exploring how to handle:

• Hidden employee baggage that pops out. How would you handle it? The old way of saying “there is no I in team” doesn’t work today. What would you do as a leader to address the baggage and keep team performance high? Hint: Discuss the issues and listen for the real obstacle. The solution is there.

• Challenges to your leadership. This can happen for many reasons. Listen to what the challengers are saying and not saying. If it is leadership style, you can modify yours. If it’s their jealousy, racism, or sexism, don’t apologize.

• Unforeseen catastrophes. Remember you are the leader and your job is to set a course and tap other’s expertise to get there. Be open-minded yet not indecisive.

• Standing up to top-performing team bullies. The answer to this one starts with knowing your own beliefs and values. If you believe that bullying is not acceptable, you can easily address this challenge.

• Leading virtual teleworking teams. Many leaders and managers find they are unprepared to do this. Well here are nine communication steps to lead virtually.

And learn how to handle …

• Leading change. Leadership is all about moving forward. In other words, leadership is all about leading change. Start learning how to make people excited about the future and how to address their fears. One thing is for sure in leading change, speak obvious truths to overcome resistance. And remember to lead morale as you are leading change.







• Racism and sexism among those you lead. These beliefs and behaviors are toxic to success. In addition to HR resources, read up on implicit (hidden) bias and tap experts to work with you and your teams to remove explicit and implicit bias.

Prepare for these tough leadership moments before you become a leader. Read expert blogs, assess your own beliefs about leadership, ask for a mentor. Watch how your leaders handle these tough leadership moments and write a private journal how you would handle it.

Personal Lesson Learned

Before I left my corporate job to become a consultant, I spoke with all types of consultants to learn what it was like. They shared challenges, tips, and even encouragement. Of course, my learning continued once I started my own consulting business. Yet, those early discussions were very valuable in facing the tough moments.

From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™

©2020 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com for permission and guidelines. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.

Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.

Tags: difficcult, employee engagement, interpersonal skills, Leadership, management, moments, people skills, personal development, professional development, racism, sexism, Soft Skills, Tough, vision