Leadership Through Tough Financial Times Article Review

The effects of the tough economic times are still visible with us after the cost of food and gas went up drastically, there was huge consumer debt as well as an unstable stock market and a housing market in crisis. This has led to financial and job insecurity. Many employees are stressed with future uncertainties that would lead to poor performance, absenteeism at work and generally, demoralized personnel. This is bad news to the company as labor is one of the very important inputs of production. Therefore, as a leader, one must be able to motivate his or her workers. The leader must also make vital business strategies. The leader must build the relationship with the employees and therefore create a team in which he or she is the captain. As a leader, one must exclusively know oneself, so as to realize ones abilities and talents so that he/she is ready to take up an extra project. When the leader manages himself/herself, the team is able to learn from him/her. The leader must also be able to communicate with his/her team. Communication enhances the bonding of the team. Regular talks on policy changes or staff cutbacks are important in hard economic times. It is important to note that secrecy will not help but an open talk is of essence. It is also important to let the employees air their reactions and possibly give ideas which may be of help to the company. The employees should occasionally hold sessions on topics such as stress management, motivation, team building, time management and other topics which may be important in the tough economic times. Regular rewards to exemplary performance are important to motivate the employees. The leader should plan with supervisors so as to put them in better position to lead and handle difficult situations. The leader should also make business strategies such as accountability to the budget. This will eliminate chances of misuse of money and may lower costs. The leader should also design a marketing plan with key issues being, effectiveness, affordability and efficiency. The leader should also upgrade the customer care. Customer satisfaction is important and requires planning and training of the relevant personnel. This may entail after-sales services, communication with customers and create positive first impressions. One cannot predict the end of a difficult financial time and so, it is important that as a leader to show the skills, build the team, and create strategies that will see a workplace at ease and focused. This article key on emphasizing on the basic issues that make a lot of impact in the workplace. With poor customer care and demoralized worker, most companies are liable to poor sales and dissatisfied customers leading to most of the companies lose their loyalty to the customers. REFERENCE Collins. J (2009), Leadership through Difficult Times.