You are a passenger on an airplane.  You look out the window of the place and the wing is on fire.  The oxygen masks drop down.  The flight attendants make an announcement that the pilot is going to have to make a crash landing on water.  You hear yelling: “Brace…Brace”.  People around you are starting to cry and you hear a woman scream.

1. Remember you are not flying the plane. “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change.”  The plane has a problem.  Circular conversation “Oh my God, we’re going to crash, we’re going to crash. Oh this can’t be happening. This shouldn’t happen.  Why is this happening to me?”  It is happening, and it’s not about you. It’s about the plane.  It is what it is.  The pilot is taking care of that part.  Leave him alone to do his job.
2. “God grant me the courage to change the things I can”.  What is within your control?  Here’s where your true leadership ability comes in.  Know what is within your realm of experience, knowledge, skill, and attitude. Figure out what is needed. (Use your assessment, understanding, vision, and triage abilities)  Determine what you can (and need to) do, and do it. Are you sitting in an emergency row?  Make sure you know all the instructions.  Does someone need calming down to keep others from panicking?  What do you need to take charge of?
3. Act quickly. It may be best to do nothing.  If that’s the case, do nothing because it’s best to do nothing. (Use your discernment skills) Don’t do nothing because you can’t decide what to do.  Split seconds count.  If you need to take action, do it quickly and confidently. “God grant me the wisdom to know the difference” (between what cannot change and what I can change)
4. Put your own oxygen mask first.  Always.  It sounds so obvious in this airplane metaphor, but it’s surprisingly common for the executive leader to throw their body on the fire when it’s “crunch time”.  (forgetting to eat right, not sleeping, overworking, ruminating)..It is imperative to take care of yourself first so you can bring your “A “ game to the rescue effort when needed.
5. Keep your head together. If you are in “fight or flight” mode, you can’t be a great thinker.  No one has ever told me they thought of a great idea in the middle of an anxiety attack!
6. Use your authority.  A situation like this is one where there is no time for meetings, votes, or consensus.  People will need to be told what to do, and told that everything will turn out alright.  Simply step up to the plate as the leader.  If someone else steps up at the same time, collaborate or delegate, whichever you know is right.
7. What if it doesn’t?  (turn out all right?)  If it doesn’t, what have you lost?  You went out in flames giving it your best, right up until the end, brave, calm, and setting the example: bringing peace and assurance to a chaotic, scary situation.  How else would you want to be remembered?  “He went down screaming “Oh my God, why is this happening to me?”?!  I hope not.  After all, you are the leader.

©2009 Julia Marrocco.  All rights reserved.

Tags: Business Coach, coachin, Executive Coach, Leadership, Leadership Skills, leadership training

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