Exercise 4

The Setback

People in Adversity

My grandmother used to say, “Life is happening while we’re all making plans.” Things will not only not go your way, at times they will seem like they are going backward. The trick is to recognize that these events are not an exception to the proceedings, but rather an inextricable part of it. You will, I can tell you now, have a setback.

At the outset, the group should be aware of the potential for reversal. When a setback is seen as a natural and expected part of the quest, it will not frighten the team, however large the impediment may be. In my early years of leading groups, I sometimes displayed excessive optimism in my desire to be highly motivating, and so faced serious morale issues when a setback finally occurred. People are a great deal more resilient than we think, providing they’re crystal clear about the ambition and the collective energy required to achieve it.

As you embark on your journey, it is vital that you communicate your belief that the people with you, as they are, are capable of achieving the quest you are on. During the depths of the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt set forth on a trailblazing voyage of societal and economic change to alleviate the suffering of a nation. He said, “. . . the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Roosevelt instinctively understood and brilliantly acknowledged that whatever challenge was before the American people could be surmounted. This remarkable phrase, said at a time of despair and hopelessness, is the proof that the antidote to fear is hope.

Hurricane Donna

There’s no better way for me to offer an all-important lesson about setbacks than with the story of a family event I will never forget. It was September 1960. A special bulletin appeared on the black-and-white television set. Kevin Kennedy, our nightly news telecaster, came on the screen. A hurricane with winds in excess of 115 mph was working its way toward the coast of Long Island, New York. I, all of six years old, interpreted this in one way and one way only: it was headed straight for our house. I was terrified. We had what we called a “picture window,” a large window frame about four by five feet with a single sheet of plate glass: food for hurricanes. In preparation, my mom, with a few ten-penny nails protruding from her mouth, boarded up the window, assisted by my older brother David. At this point, I was no longer scared, I was petrified.

The storm hit Long Island hard. We were huddled in the center of the house, the creaks inside and the crashes outside deafening. The knocking of my knees added to the cacophony. Then, at a point where we were beginning to lose it all, Mom looked at all four of us, me in particular. She said very calmly, “Look at me,” pointing to her face. “Do I look worried?” We all studied Mom’s usual sunny demeanor and replied, “No.” She then went on, “Good. Tell you what, then. I’ll make you a deal. If I start to look worried then you can. What do you think?” We all nodded immediately and she added, “I have an idea. We may not have lights, but we’ve got gas so we can cook. We’ve got candles too, so . . . let’s have a hurricane party!” In short order, with the blue glow of propane illuminating the kitchen, our giggles and the howl of winds as our backdrop, we had ourselves a ball.

Certainty

Enlisting a team around your real ambition is all about certainty. Not certainty about exactly what might happen along the way, but certainty that all will come out right and that the real ambition you have set will happen. (Remember, “We will . . .”) Your job is not to prevent crazy things from happening. (They will.) Your job is to engender confidence, even if at that moment you don’t have it. When I spoke with Mom years later, she told me she was terrified, but that she had a responsibility to us kids not to let us see her fear and to assure us of our safety. You role is to assure confidence in a positive outcome.

Now, your role is not to sugar coat. Mom created no illusion about the severity of the storm. You have to be candid with your people about the circumstances. The more honest you are, the better, but you must declare your confidence in the face of these conditions. In my time working with and observing New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, he declared, amidst the shocking crime statistics and a brutally challenged city, “It [making the city safe for citizens] can be done and will be done.”

Leadership demands certainty about the rightness of your real ambition and certainty of your belief that you will achieve it. You are not expected to have all the answers or control all events; your certainty comes in the form of your belief that, come what may, you will succeed. Your people need to believe that you will support and protect them and that all will come out well—and they will be okay. If you believe it, they will, too.

In these kinds of circumstances, you may feel the need to appear as if you have the answer to everything. You don’t. You’ll make yourself crazy if you think you do. When your people recognize the climate you set for them, the confidence you have, and the focus on their well-being, they’ll provide you with the answers.

The setback offers an invaluable opportunity to show your people the power of your leadership and your confidence in your convictions. In fact, true leadership is demonstrated not when things are rolling along smoothly but when crisis tests you.

Don’t Worry, Mr. Delightful!

When a setback occurs, you’ll find your team will take extraordinary steps to help make you buoyant. Because your team knows you have compassion for them and believe in them, they will step up in a crisis. In the cutlery case, Sal made it clear he was not going to give up. He gave the team, and me, enormous confidence when we needed it most.

The ACTION Model

Here is a helpful series of steps you can take when faced with a crisis. I call this the ACTION Model:

Acknowlege the problem. It’s vitally important that everyone understands what has happened, no sugar coating. You’ll be surprised just what people can deal with. People are more frightened when they are in the dark. Stay calm and put the facts out there. At the same time, be sure to declare that there is a solution. I heard Mayor Giuliani say on more than one occasion, “People created the problem, so people can fix the problem.” They are looking to you for confidence. Remember also to put the situation in a larger context.

Consider all possibilities. Sometimes, in an effort to be seen as in control, we immediately and instinctively begin “doling out orders.” The first step in a crisis is to assess the situation. Don’t make knee-jerk decisions. Call your people together and get all the facts. Consider carefully all the contributing factors. Weigh the consequences of potential solutions. There is never just one reason that things go awry. There are invariably several things that conspire together.

Target the cause, not the symptoms. Identify not the symptoms but the root cause and make your decisions based on the cause, and the cause alone. We are often drawn to the obvious manifestations of the problem, but behind these occurrences lie the real issues at work. The underlying causes are invariably more complex and challenging, so often it seems easier to attack the symptoms. Inevitably, if you don’t attack the root cause, you’re not solving the crisis.

Inspire confidence: the problem can be solved. More than half of the battle in these circumstances is confidence. If your people believe the problem can be solved, they will attack it with audacity and with an entirely different sense of purpose than if they feel the deck is stacked against them. Let them know you believe two things: 1) the problem can be solved and is not allowed to stand in the way of the real ambition, and 2) you believe deeply in their ability to solve the problem.

Organize the right team. No one person can solve a serious problem alone, but too many people on the job can also create difficulties. In our rush to make things happen, we often immediately mobilize a large number of people to get at the problem. Consequently, there’s a sense of panic, which yields chaos. Decide which talents and personalities you need to solve the problem and tap those, no less and no more. Remember that a diverse team is the most effective and creative when it comes to problem solving.

Nominate your catalysts. Identify key leaders who will drive the team to a successful conclusion. In a crisis, particularly, you need to keep your most positive people closest to you. They will carry your sense of optimism and confidence that the problem can be resolved, but more practically they will rally the rest of the team to a successful conclusion.