There are many schools of thought on what it takes to be a leader. Some are more helpful than others, even though they all generally agree upon communication, problem-solving, and strategic thinking as necessary skills. But what about resilience? An often underappreciated skill, the American Psychological Association defines resilience as “the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.” In other words, they are flexible, self-aware, and in control of their emotional responses. Resilient leaders are able to guide their people through challenging times because they have the skills to guide themselves through it, too.
I spoke with Matt Kleinrock about many things on an episode of Best Places to Lead, and the thread running through all of our conversations was his resilience. CEO of Rockway Exhibits + Events, Matt had the nearly impossible task of pulling a wholly events-based company through the pandemic without losing it all. Not only did Rockway Exhibits + Events survive COVID, but they also came back more profitable than ever. These are 3 of the many lessons from Matt’s episode about how to lead from a position of resilience:
- Sometimes the conservative choice is the most optimistic one.
- Flexibility and empathy are essential during challenging periods.
- Empower your people to be data-driven.
Lesson #1: Optimism isn’t always your best guide when making decisions in the face of the unknown.
We’ve talked with many a leader about the impact of COVID-19 on their organization, but none were impacted as much as Rockway Exhibits + Events. As a business in the industry of bringing people together, they had to radically downsize to stay afloat. I asked Matt about how they pulled through the pandemic without having to close shop completely, and he said it was the result of focused conversations with his business partner and exercising extreme caution.
As a self-described optimist, being conservative in his outlook on what each day, let alone each month, in 2020 would bring was not in his nature. For Matt, the conservative approach meant looking at the must-have operating expenses and limited ways they could bring in money. Based on that simple math alone, then choosing to cut 90% of staff. Not furlough, not offer promises, but terminate. It’s a testament to his leadership that the response from the majority of staff was gratitude. As we have learned from many Best Places to Lead guests, transparency and honesty go a long way toward building trust and understanding with your people.
Lesson #2: Flexibility and empathy are important to change management skills during periods of uncertainty.
It’s an understatement to say that rates of emotional suffering during the initial days of the pandemic were high. For Matt, that meant recognizing that the standards he once held himself and his people to needed to change. Whether during periods of extreme duress or not, flexibility will almost always help you come out on top. But so, too, can empathy. As Matt lovingly stated, “People suffer differently.” As leaders, we won’t always be privy to the why or how, but we will see how it impacts their ability to show up as their best self. It’s our responsibility to help create workplaces that are responsive to those needs and don’t penalize people for being whole people.
Lesson #3: Empower your people to make better decisions by being data-driven.
One of the positive outcomes of the lockdowns was time to pause and reflect on where the business was at and how to get to that next level. I asked Matt to walk me through how he came out the other side of the pandemic as a 10 million dollar business. First, he realized that the level of sales they were making was not where they needed to be and focused on ways to move up market to have less clients with bigger sales. To do that, he needed to get his sales team on board by helping them envision what would be possible down the road with this shift. He also needed to set standards for them, so they would know without a doubt what he was expecting. The biggest change, though, was moving to be data-driven. At Rockway Exhibits + Events, this looked like scorecards that established what matters most to the business and improving the mechanics of their finances. This not only enabled his sales team to follow better leads, but it allowed Matt to have better and more accurate projections of their finances.
To learn more from Matt on how to be a resilient leader, make sure to listen to the full episode!
About Best Places to Lead
Your company has the potential to be great. The leader’s responsibility is to unlock that potential – or doom it to mediocrity.
On the LIVE Best Places to Lead show, you’ll learn the hard-fought lessons from the front lines earned by business leaders who have already had their teeth bashed in and lived to tell about it. We’ll share the tips, tricks, mindsets, and frameworks that allow great leaders to lead differently.
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