When your business or leadership is suddenly thrown into the media spotlight in a negative way, it can be a trying time for anyone. You are under the microscope and need to be an effective leader now more than ever. Calming the fears of your staff and regaining loyalty can be difficult.
Thirteen members of Forbes Human Resources Council discuss some of the most effective ways new leaders can regain composure and continue to lead productively after suffering a setback. Here’s what they recommend:
1. Be Completely Honest
Leaders need to be honest with employees when they fail and be accountable for the failures that they own. One of the things employees like to know is that it is OK to fail. More importantly, they need to see their leader demonstrate the recovery by pulling themselves up by their bootstraps to try again. Setbacks in business happen everyday. It is how leaders demonstrate the recovery that helps employees believe in their leadership. - Tracy Bittner, SPHR, Ionic Security Inc.
2. Take Responsibility
Employees follow the leader. If leadership plays the blame game, then setbacks or missed outcomes will always be someone else's fault (and culture will take a huge hit). Instead, the leader must transparently share what they could have done better, how they will learn from this experience and what they will do differently in the future. This provides a safe environment for everyone and will improve future performance. - Cristin Heyns-Bousliman, Blake's Lotaburger, LLC
3. Focus On Vision, Goal And Transparency
Business outcomes are almost always achieved through multiple work activities. Missing one doesn't mean the business goal will be missed. Communicate understanding and commitment to the business goal, the now-modified path to get there and what's needed from the team to be successful. Support the culture with vision and open dialogue — encourage people to engage and answer their questions directly. - Dr. Dale Albrecht, Alonos
4. Show Strength In Vulnerability
Missed outcomes are common when leaders set ambitious goals — and there is strength in a leader's ability to be vulnerable and open about "the what and the why" of any setback. The key to turning the outcome around is to expose the learnings as the bright side of the setback. This combination of being vulnerable, open and willing to learn and grow from a setback is a critical piece in the pie of what makes leaders truly great. - Heather Doshay, Rainforest QA
5. Lead By Example
Leading by example doesn't end at success; it needs to happen in failure too. A leader should identify what caused the setback and come with a solid plan on how to fix it and prevent it in the future. A lot of the anxiety of failure comes from not knowing what to do next, but by giving a solid direction, your team will recover more quickly and stay confident in your leadership. - Steven Jiang, Hiretual
6. Build Confidence
The best thing to motivate employees after a missed outcome is the confidence from their leader that they can regain momentum and get back on track. Show your genuine faith and trust in them and they will exceed your expectations. - Lotus Yon, NCH
7. Seek Small Wins
Be honest about yourself and the mistakes you have learned from the setback. Then quickly (i.e., within minutes to hours) seek small wins. In recruiting, getting a call back from a tough-to-hire candidate is a good small win, after losing a big deal with a client or losing a candidate to a competitor at the last hour of an open job. Feeling sorry for yourself is not good for anyone. - Ben Martinez, Secret Tech Sauce Talent
8. Re-Align To The Team's Purpose
When setbacks occur, the key for new leaders is to re-align to their team’s purpose. The leader should remain calm, ensure that employees understand the miss and how each contributed to the “big picture” value of the business. They must be reassured that overcoming hurdles is a natural part of achieving success and that their feedback is integral to future strategies for success. - Genine Wilson, Kelly Services
9. Stay Confident Even When Times Are Tough
Remain calm and gather the people you need to assess the process and where it might have gone wrong. Then confidently lay out the plan for where to go next. If a person or group needs to be addressed regarding the missed outcome, talk to them privately. Finally, remind your people that failure is always a learning opportunity. - Cameron Bishop, SkillPath
10. Acknowledge And Recover
Everyone has a setback or missed outcome and it's usually pretty visible. Quickly accepting the reality of the situation and envisioning a positive outcome can help leaders regain composure and set a path forward. Employees need to see humility and a willingness to acknowledge the situation to help them regain confidence in leadership. - Jennifer Marszalek, Havas Chicago Village
11. Include Team In The Decision-Making Process
Good leaders make fast decisions and keep the company moving forward. Sometimes those decisions backfire and we experience setbacks. But if the leader makes his or her team feel empowered, then the success or setback is used by the entire team to enhance future decision-making. A successful leader makes the entire team feel empowered. We are all in it together. - Abhijeet Narvekar, The FerVID Group
12. Don’t Be Afraid To Experiment
While setbacks are not desired, I’d so rather a new leader miss while pursuing a goal aggressively, than hesitating or standing still. Sometimes it’s good to give employees permission to experiment and try again. Doing so provides a safe, trust-based work environment in which new leaders can thrive. - Stacey Browning, Paycor
13. Maximize The Experience
New leaders must realize that setbacks and missed outcomes are part of the success equation. If goals and objectives are easily achieved, you may not really be leading. You will fail, you will win. The key is to maximize the experience of either, so you are in a continuous learning process of becoming a better leader. Employees need to observe resiliency in leadership during these situations. - Maximo Rocha, CSG Systems Inc
