The leader of today is handling crises every day.  Crises parallel in time and over different sectors. Some of these, in sectors that he/she could and should have foreseen and others rather unpredictable.  However, without him/her being able to define the mixture of crises, their timing or their tension.

In addition, the leaders of today create crises themselves, in order to fulfill their personal goals and ambitions, even to satisfy their own ego. Obviously, in these cases, some other leaders from their sector will have to successfully deal with these artificial crises, and vice versa. This is an ongoing circle, affecting everyone at the end.

Furthermore, there are cases when today’s leaders do not prevent crises that they have seen coming, either because they are too busy dealing with their own crises or because, for some selfish reason, they find these emergency situations rather suitable for them.

If someone does not identify with him/herself in the above situation, then he/she is happy still enjoying a smooth way up his/her leadership ladder.

Then, why should someone strive, embrace and excel as a leader, when his/her day is full of crises nowadays? Apart from the power, the interpersonal relations at the highest possible level, fame or reputation, fortune and prosperity that comes along for the majority of leaders, the element that plays a dominant role is the leader’s ability to create visions. It has to do with the inner power that allows people generally recognized as leaders to see beyond other people’s ability, to see and to believe that there is no distance between different odds, between the possible and the impossible, between intuition and reality.

Having experienced all the above during my long-lasting service in crisis management at an international level, from almost all duty roles and from the perspective of consulting, I have concluded to the following findings:

• The leader with the most well-prepared personal leadership brand and reputation is the one who wins and excels over the time. He/she is the one who has, as an ally, the one enemy who is undefeated in crises: Time.
• The one who loses the battle against his/her ego is the one who leads responsibly, with respect to himself first and above all.
• The one who has the best stamina has the advantage of listening and making the best decisions in times of exceptional tense.
• The one who incorporates and admires the challengers in his leadership team, is the one who foresees and prepares him/herself more efficiently for the unexpected future.
• Crises bring losses, by default. The type of losses you choose to accept and the way you handle them defines the result and your posthumous fame.
• The level of your personal empathy also defines your future relationship with yourself and with your close ones.

The era of parallel, continuous and systematic crises is the new normality. At the same time, it is the era of thirst for love leaders, which means for leaders who envision prosperity for the many. For the ones who will create the new normality and for the generation of leaders who will envision more and will act accordingly through hard work, instead of creating and dealing with crises daily. Those who will shift the balance of daily life towards safety, security and prosperity.

Published on INSIDER