7-Ways to succeed/lead in tough times:

As humans, every one of us wants life to be easy. We expect that life is a smooth road to success and it’s as hassle-free. We want a prize without paying any price. While the reality is different and life is hard. When we accept this fact, we began to grow. This is the point where we consider problems as an opportunity and think out of the box. These beyond-the-limitation thoughts help us to find ways to succeed in tough times. A few of the ways are;

1. Self-Awareness

To prepare yourself as a leader in tough times, you must know yourself. A leader spontaneously started searching for a way forward in unfavorable conditions. A successful leader knows his/her strengths and weaknesses. Good leaders really do hard to know themselves. They

• Develop vision and make practices to keep it as the mission
• Set values and norms
• Evaluate their day from their value perspective
• Take their responsibilities, ultimately, they receive their rights.

2. Focus on what you can control

“We control only things, what we plan.” At first most of the time we put efforts to control natural things, as per my experience “we can’t frame natural things”. Secondly, we take planning for granted and never we face tough situations due to this. To overcome hurdles, we need to;

• Determine what we can control
• Focus on present and upcoming scenarios
• Identify fears and influence ourselves to overcome them in external ways with strong willpower.
• Be consistent with what influences and help to develop control
• Take action and turn the table.

3. Change is a challenge

For improvement and tough times dealings, change is a basic requirement. In most situations not accepting the change leads to tough times. Accept the change (if it’s good) and take the benefit as an opportunity but if the change causes an unfavorable situation take it as a challenge and learn from it.

To accept change its necessary to;

• Don’t focus on what is easy to change, but on what is necessary to change.
• To move towards tomorrow, let go of yesterday.

4. Learning from past experiences

On the road to success as you come close to achieving goals, hurdles increase and these may be failure, negative ranking, or disappointment. As a leader analyze past experiences.

• If past experiences benefit you, keep going with them
• If past experiences cause tough times, adopt alternatives or create an environment that resists bad experiences.
• Make new plans and do the best ways of brainstorming to come up with different ideas.

5. Build a strengthened team

As a leader at your workplace make your team strong enough to cope-up with difficult situations. Introduce the things that strengthen your team and increase efficiency in tough times.

• Show a better vision of their future
• Let them be what they could be, not what they are.
• Develop a unity-based culture

6. Bring everyone on the same page

Bringing everyone on the same page is something that strengthens the team and is proof of good leadership. To keep everyone on the same page:

• Listen to each individual personally
• Solve their conflict (intrapersonal/interpersonal)
• Be strict with the team but linear with the individuals
• Accept other’s opinions and value them
• Consider and appreciate the importance of each individual in the workplace.

7. Discover alternatives to win

When a leader accepts a change and learns from past experiences, he/she finds it easy to accept and go with alternative ways and innovative ideas. “Enter the battleground with new strategies and make a win-win scenario.”  There are different historical examples of organizations that had not accepted the change and they are kicked out of the market while others lead due to acceptance of the change.

On the way towards success, these are guidelines after the review of “Leading in tough times” by “John C. Maxwell” In my opinion, when an opportunity is not taken it becomes a threat because competitors take advantage of it. But a good leader identifies and copes with that threat before it leads them in tough times. As an individual, a good leader tries to convert threats into opportunities rather than blaming others(system, society, government, policymakers) and all that.