Good Leaders: How would you recognize your finest hour?

So the next time you think your work is hard, imagine this: Standing in front of your Board of Directors, your immediate boss gives your part of the global project a “vote of no confidence.”  So how would you turn it around?

Working together, great things are possible

Coaching leaders on global projects is awesome, but often things get worse before they get better. The big challenge for this team: at the end of this project they would all be looking for work, because they were literally working themselves out of a job. That’s what happens on IT separation projects. But that doesn’t tell the whole story.

“What I really needed was a leadership intervention,” our client confessed. “Working with the Good Leadership team was a pivotal moment for me to see my impact on a team differently,” he added. The consequences were huge: a $250 million global IT project that – if failed – would tarnish the careers of every leader on the team. “How could this be your finest hour?” one of their coaches asked. See the client’s comments in this video:

[fusion_youtube id=”NtKWJ5ld8QQ” alignment=”” width=”800″ height=”600″ autoplay=”false” api_params=”hd=1&wmode=opaque&showinfo=0&rel=0;” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” css_id=””][/fusion_youtube]

Turning it around felt good

“The momentum survey they used with my team hit me really hard because I’m a data guy. And the data on my first team report was mostly red. The report said everything we were feeling…red meant bad!” he laughed.

In one really intense afternoon meeting, his team embraced a whole new level of healthy tension to really get in the face of their leader:“We realized that what we were trying to do had never been done before – on such a large scale, with such a short time frame,” he exclaimed. “And that meant I had to get out of business as usual mode – lead with a lot more courage and a lot less micromanaging. They needed me to set the example of trusting one another.”

Fueled by the idea that this could be their finest hour, the leadership team created three intense shared commitments:

1. Make every hour count
2. Extraordinary results only come from great teamwork
3. We will help everyone on this team achieve a meaningful next role – no matter what

The turnaround was stunning to everyone involved. The new level of commitment meant that the top leaders worked 80 days in a row, without a day off – including summer holidays.

The reward: a standing ovation from the CEO and his executive team. “We accomplished what had never been done before – we finished on time, and $30M under budget,” he beamed.

Good leaders believe their biggest challenges may actually become their finest hour as a leader. And they are willing to embrace healthy tension to make great things possible.

Please share with me: looking back, what was your finest hour as a leader?