Define the truth
When change is occurring in the marketplace, your employees look to you to figure out what the future looks like. You need to show them that you’re aware of what’s going on in your world.
“The first thing that is absolutely critical to a leader is to define the truth,” Milenthal says. “A strong leader understands and communicates the truth about our situation. Where are we in the marketplace? Are we competitive? Do we have the right people? Do we have the right capital structure? Are we executing on our mission? That leader must guide the organization to be better in all of these areas.
“What truly builds anxiety in your organization is if they think the leader and leadership does not understand the change and the situation at hand. That builds more anxiety than the actual change. If leadership appears to understand that change and is working through it to get us to our destination, that builds confidence. If we appear to be clueless or in denial because we want to protect how we’ve done things in the past, that’s when your team gets nervous and anxious and you’re going to lose your best people through those changes.”
The first thing you need to do when you sense a major change in the air is get out and get your mind wrapped around what is happening.
“Your first step is a deep amount of curiosity,” Milenthal says. “You need to get out and talk with your people who are interacting with the marketplace and interacting with your customers.”
Talk to clients and people who influence your industry and figure out what they are seeing in your line of business. Put yourself in a strong position to assess the new environment and figure out what the best plan of action is for your company to succeed in it.
“Free your time to think about the future and think about the marketplace and have personal knowledge of what’s happening in the marketplace,” Milenthal says.
Report back to your leadership team and your employees about what you learn while in the field.
“Our leadership will go on a two-day retreat every quarter,” Milenthal says. “Almost all of that time is spent discussing where the marketplace is today and how we can take advantage of the situation and build opportunity for our people. … The main thing is to make sure your leaders understand where you’re going and make sure you’re setting a vision but also that you are not living in any sort of denial regarding that change. You can’t spend too much time with your leadership team defining both the opportunities and challenges at hand so they can do so with your people.”
Use your people and get them involved in plotting your company’s future.
“The idea that a CEO is doing anything other than thinking about the future, the vision and the direction of the company is a mistake,” Milenthal says. “It’s a mistake that many of us make. They feel there are a number of things that are only their portfolio. There are actually very few things that are only the CEO’s portfolio. You must be about the future, and you must get a team that can execute the present.”
You’re the leader of the company and your people are looking to you for direction in periods of change. So do your best to get all of the information you need to report back to them with a plan for how your company will respond to this change.
“You’re not looking to free yourself of your contact with your executives,” Milenthal says. “Generally, you would enhance the contact you have with your executives and the time to form the priorities and direction of the company to really be on the same page as to where the company is going. It’s like an investment. You have to first invest a good deal of time with those executives and really understand if you have the right team.
“A broad vision needs to be crafted with your team, but there is no substitute for the leader defining the ultimate destination and a realistic assessment of where we stand today to meet that destination. Being a leader is not necessarily about being a manager. It’s about defining the pillars of our vision and guiding the group to embrace that vision.”