What a leader should be focusing on in challenging times...

I carry what might be an old-school and somewhat unpopular view on what a leader should focus on in these current times.

There’s a fair bit of advice out there at present that leaders will be measured by how much they care and communicate through—and out the other side of—COVID-19.

Largely, it’s well-meaning advice worth aspiring to, but a closer look reveals that being a kind hearted, caring and supportive person won’t be what’s remembered much less create a lasting legacy; at least not without something else as the foundational focus on which to build your compassionate and caring approach on top of.

Performance and results. They’re the two things leaders need to primarily focus on in these times.

As my friend and mentor Michael Henderson says, the job of a culture is not simply to connect, it's to perform.

In ancient times, the performance of a culture was measured by making it through a long winter or travelling through a sparse tundra. Performance was directly related to survival.

While these days performance can be viewed as things like meeting KPI’s and business objectives, the same rules still apply: if your culture is not performing, it’s likely heading towards extinction.

By all means, be there to counsel your people through these tough times, and be the person to lend a shoulder or a welcome ear. But never forget that your ultimate job as a leader is to have that culture perform.

After all, no leader is fondly remembered for seeing a culture or business go under, no matter how nice and supportive a person they were.

Leaders steer people back from the edge. They don’t hold their hands and tell them everything will be OK as they plummet into annihilation.