In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing and the next best thing is the wrong thing—the worst thing you can do is nothing.

—THEODORE ROOSEVELT

Today’s global economy is characterized by rapid and unpredictable change. The challenge of such turbulent times can only be met by employing an appropriate blend of the leadership and management mindsets. You must sense and adapt to change. Sometimes adapting will require innovation, and other times it may mean renewing an old best practice. Because change is unpredictable, it follows that your actions may be different too—at least from the viewpoint that actions that worked yesterday may not work as well today. Conduct leadership conversations in ways that challenge habitual, comfortable actions to be sure that they still work. When a new action is required, hold conversations so that people understand the what, when, why, and how of the change.

Barry, the CEO, took the podium in front of his executive team after they had heard the CFO report that, for the fourth consecutive quarter, sales had declined and the bottom line was red. The company was proud of its multidecade record of success, but recently it had lost market share in virtually every division. The room was funereally silent as Barry began to speak:

Kashur, the VP of marketing, waved his hand vigorously and was recognized by Barry. Kashur said, “I feel like that’s what we’ve being doing for the past year—and it’s not working. We have been changing too quickly and in too many areas to coordinate process changes, R&D, and expensive investments across the divisions. We aren’t sharing market intelligence the way we used to, and in some areas, divisions are actually selling against each other. We need to take a breather, compare notes, unify our strategy, and focus on mutual areas of success.”

The room was restless as Barry thought for a moment before responding:

When Barry finished, the room fell silent again as the executives pondered what he had said and which high potentials they would recognize at the coming off-site. But that silence was different from the silence that preceded his message—it was silence rooted in a groundswell of innovative thinking and optimism that stiffened the resolve of the executives to restore the company to its former greatness.

The Meaning of Silence

Silence is an integral part of conversations, so learn to use it effectively. It can be simply silence, or it can be the prologue to decisive action. Silence can be a time where nothing—or everything—is happening. It may be a pause without conscious thought or the prelude to something big. Instinctively, people lean into silence wondering what will come next. Silence also allows people to clear clutter from their heads and prepare for action. It is frequently the time when insights sprout and the next set of actions is imagined.

During periods of silence, people process information, consider alternatives, and think about the potential reactions of others. When people become quiet, let the silence run its course and give them time to reflect, consider alternatives, and make a decision. Some of the most powerful answers we have received during coaching interactions have come after thirty seconds or more of silence. When people respond after having that much time to think, they often come up with revealing insights. Silence can connect and align people behind a new action.

The average two-hour movie contains roughly thirty minutes of dialogue and ninety minutes of silence, during which you interpret the action using nonverbal cues. These periods often are the most evocative segments of a movie because they allow people to inject personal thoughts and feelings into the scene. In the context of action, silence is where you ask one last question—the one that knocks down the last barrier. It is the moment when people commit to take action. Let silence work for you. Do not fill the void mindlessly. Silence can drive the actions you want.

Requesting Action Versus Demanding Action

How many times have you left a meeting that ended in silence thinking that there was agreement, only to hear people voicing concerns in the hallway about the supposedly agreed-on actions? For example, a ski goggle company tested a material that would allow its goggles to remain soft and comfortable at skiing temperatures. Unfortunately, once formed into goggles, the material melted at 95 degrees into a distorted blob. Despite that issue, the division president told Brennan, the product manager, to order full production quantities of the material and hang a tag on the product warning customers to keep the goggles away from heat. Brennan said nothing.

At the end of the meeting, Brennan merely acknowledged the president’s directive and drove back to his office, using the time alone to think. Later that day, he signed an order to purchase just 10 percent of the production quantity. The manufacturing vice president called him to question the reduced order. Brennan confirmed that it was correct, and said that he would rather be fired than take an action that could damage the company’s reputation. The conversation necessary to persuade and inspire Brennan to take aligned action had not occurred during the meeting—there had been only the president’s demand for action.

Agreement is real only when both parties (1) acknowledge what has been agreed to, (2) know the actions that will be taken, and (3) concur on the expected outcomes. As a leader, be sure your requests are stated as requests and that your demands—the few times you must make them—are clearly stated as demands. To clarify the difference, normally the only acceptable response to a demand is “Yes.” In contrast, there are multiple accept­able responses to a request, including “Yes,” “No,” “Let me get back to you [later today],” or continuing negotiations until the two parties agree on whether the answer will be yes or no. Requests show respect for others; demands do not. Requests lead to conversations that produce better decisions and inspire aligned action. At best, demands elicit compliance.

Putting Leadership Influence Into Action

Leaders have significant influence—and the responsibility to use it wisely. For example, Habib, a division manager in a public company, also was a leader in the U.S. Persian community. As a group, they worked to safeguard their interests in the post-9/11 era. Fellow Persians in his company told him that a well-known job-search website, because of its interpretation of the Patriot Act, was not distributing resumes for anyone who had the word “Iran” in his or her profile. They needed to use the website because of pending layoffs, and asked Habib to speak to a newspaper reporter about the situation. He did so, but the reporter insisted on citing the Habib’s name and company in the article. He called his company’s public relations director to get permission, but his request was denied. This was a seminal moment—how should he respond? How should he show up as leader? How much did he owe to his community and the people in his company who were facing layoffs?

Habib called the PR director again, asked about the origin of her French accent, and reminded her of the backlash against the French because they refused to join President Bush’s coalition after 9/11. In light of looming layoffs, he asked, “How would you feel if the website extended its policy to exclude French people?” That question converted her from a roadblock to a supporter. She obtained approval, and he completed the interview with the reporter. Facing public scrutiny, the website instantly reversed its policy. Habib’s action positively impacted not only employees of his company but also thousands of others who may have been affected by the website’s discriminatory policy.

Consider the power you have as a leader to influence and assist thousands—maybe millions—of colleagues, customers, suppliers, and stakeholders based on the actions you take or do not take. You will reach your goals more quickly and easily by connecting and aligning with them. What better way is there to direct the actions you want people to take and the results you want to achieve than to build a high-performing team? Connect individually with each member of your team, develop her potential, respect her contributions, and take action to meet her needs and satisfy the needs of your organization at the same time.

When Your Team Is Effective, You Become Promotable

We have coached scores of high potentials whose goal was to be promoted to partner, SES, flag officer, or CXO. Many of them believed that their next promotion depended on the effectiveness of their personal actions. They were surprised to learn that how well they built their team’s capabilities and how effectively that team performed were more important than their direct contributions. The better the results their teams produced—without their direct involvement—the more promotable they became. Consider the following tactics to expand your opportunity to move up the leadership ladder:

Leading in Stressful Times

Leaders in all sectors—industry, government, the military, academia, and nonprofits—are being challenged to do more with less to better utilize their people’s time, physical assets, and budget. Your first response to a shrinking budget might be to do more yourself. An alternative is to delegate more to team members either proportionally or by getting your high potentials to take on extra work. In the first case, you are likely to burn out and have insufficient time to lead. In the latter two cases, you burn out either everyone or just the best people on your team. There is a better way: eliminate low-value tasks.

Stefan, an associate director in a government agency, received a constant stream of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, which by law must be addressed promptly. He lamented that answering the requests was making it virtually impossible for his people to perform their core mission; his thinking was rooted in ways that worked well for him in the past. Doing everything that was asked was one of Stefan’s core values and a source of pride for him. We asked him to consider other approaches he could use to process the FOIA requests. Stefan met with his boss and asked her to assign some of them to her staff. A few hours later, she agreed that her staff would handle the more controversial requests because they involved policy issues. The impossible became possible, and his team continued to excel at their core mission.

Budget limitations are often less of a barrier than executives make them out to be. One private sector client, Adrienne, desperately needed additional funds to finish a priority project by the year’s end. We encouraged her to contact her peers to see if any of them had funds remaining in the current budget year that could be transferred. It turned out one of them had just cancelled a project, and funds were indeed available. After brief negotiations with the CFO’s office, the budget authority was transferred, and a vital project was completed on time—within the existing overall budget.

The core lesson in these two stories is to think broadly in your definition of your team—it is more than just you and your direct reports. It includes everyone who has a stake in your success. Look for alliances that can dramatically expand the capabilities, resources, and reach of your team. A second lesson to understand is that when you do not ask a question, you are really the one who is saying no. When you ask questions, you tap into others’ knowledge so as to create new possibilities. The boundaries of your possible actions are no longer what you know, but rather what the organization and community know and can do.

Downsizing is becoming a major challenge for leaders. The best advice we have heard about leading during a downsizing is, “Don’t waste time at the watercooler listening to rumors. Instead, get your work done and encourage your high potentials and direct reports to do the same.”

If the evolving global economy or budget cutbacks mean that a downsizing is coming in your organization, guard against your team’s becoming distracted and inefficient—ensure that they continue to take effective actions. The threat of layoffs can easily turn cooperation into competition and debilitate a team. Get your people to focus on outcomes and to make every action count. If you and your team maintain a positive attitude and produce results, you increase your chances of emerging with your job and the team intact.

Even if you are downsized, if you and your team continue to perform well, you are likely be the ones who receive the most formal and informal assistance in finding new positions. Ask the highest-ranking person surviving the cutback to provide proactive referrals on behalf of you and your people. During the 2008 downturn, many high potentials—especially in financial companies—were laid off, even though they were top performers. There was just nothing for them to perform. Those whose bosses called their networks to recommend them as valuable hires got better jobs—and faster too. Be a leader who helps everyone survive the crisis.

At the end of the day, only action produces results. Building relationships, developing others, and making decisions lead to more effective actions; but it is the actions of you and your team along with the outcomes they produce that will build your reputation as a great leader.