Leading in Difficult Times—And There Will Be Difficult Times

By Nancy Padberg, MBA, President and CEO of Catholic Education Arizona

When difficult times surface, will you be prepared?

In 1911, two captains embarked on a perilous journey to the South Pole—one led by Robert Falcon Scott and the other by Roald Amundsen. Amundsen’s team set out three weeks ahead of Scott’s and reached the South Pole a month before Scott’s team. After reaching their destination, Scott and two of his men perished due to exhaustion, hunger, and extreme temperatures. The difference? Preparation. This story reminds us that preparation can be the defining factor in leadership outcomes.

As a business leader, you will face difficult times in business and your personal life. You almost have to expect the daily challenges. Some are bigger than others: economic uncertainty, changing customer behaviors, personal isolation, leadership burnout, marketing crisis, brand reputation, uneasy Board of Directors, investor expectations, consumer confidence, health issues, and family challenges. The list is long. The more you prepare, the better you will succeed. Here are a few ways to prepare to continue being an effective leader while managing difficult seasons.

Leading Through Business Challenges

Preparation in leadership is the ability to foresee potential challenges and to equip yourself and your team accordingly.

Continuous Learning

 Hire a business coach—they ask the tough questions. They can provide frameworks for thinking and help you set attainable goals and hold you accountable. Each month he brings clarity to complexity and ensures I don’t drift from my personal mission or values.

 I was deeply inspired after attending a CEO conference where I heard from Jim Collins, author of Built to Last, Good to Great, and Great by Choice. He reminded us that high-level, effective leaders demonstrate disciplined thought which is one of the keys to outstanding leadership. One of Collins’s most well-known principles is the importance of building your team before setting direction—what he calls “getting the right people on the bus.” This metaphor has helped me prioritize hiring and team development throughout my career.

Develop Your Community

Surround yourself with trusted advisors and experienced leaders. I am truly fortunate to have been a part of a CEO peer group called Vistage for several years. We met monthly and shared our current challenges. The experiences and insights I’ve gained during this time have been invaluable. During one particularly challenging year of navigating new legislation and market uncertainty, this group helped me manage and find growth opportunities within it. You need people who will challenge you, not just agree with you.

Preparing Your Team

Hire the right people who fit your company culture. When a team is united under a shared mission and respects one another, it creates a cohesive team that works together more seamlessly. When you have the right people in place, you can weather the storms. Also, ensure your team understands the crisis communication plan. A structured plan in times of trouble and need will ensure you can respond to crises with clarity and confidence.

During the early days of the pandemic, we leaned heavily on our crisis communication strategy. Because we had invested the time beforehand, we could reassure our stakeholders, transition operations efficiently through remote work, and keep morale strong despite daily unknowns.

Leading Through Personal Life Challenges

Your personal life does not stop when you walk into the office – especially when challenging situations or milestone events arise at home. The list includes health challenges, losing a family member, weddings, anniversaries, graduations, and more. Some of these may not be challenges, however, they require time, focus, and energy. Effective leaders must learn to navigate personal difficulties and commitments while maintaining a composed presence at work.

Communicate with Transparency

While details may remain private, being honest with key team members builds trust within your team, especially when you may have temporary shifts in availability or focus.

While dealing with a family health crisis that required significant attention, I was transparent with my executive team—not with every detail, but enough to let them know I would be leaning on them more or needing time to attend doctor appointments. Their response reminded me why assembling a great team is non-negotiable.

Lean on Your Support Network

In challenging times, knowing you have hired the right people for your team is comforting. Knowing that managing each detail is unnecessary can take loads of stress off a leader’s mind when attention is required elsewhere. Focus on your high-impact and top-priority tasks, then trust your team to handle their responsibilities. This trust comes from knowing you have assembled the best team possible, a team you can trust to get the job done. Often, team members are ready or waiting for the opportunity to rise to the occasion. Let them.

Take Care of Yourself

Physical and mental well-being are crucial to maintaining strong leadership. Exercise, faith, and time with loved ones help maintain balance and resilience.

I hired a personal trainer because I wanted to stay healthy and energized, especially during a time I felt particularly depleted. Learning new ways to stay active and committed to self-care has made me a stronger, more grounded leader.

Grace, Grit, and Growth in Difficult Times

Difficult times are inevitable, but how we respond to them is what truly matters. Whether you are leading a business through uncertainty or guiding your family through a challenging season, preparation and adaptability will see you through. Investing in leadership and yourself is not about avoiding challenges but rising to meet them through preparation, delegation, and grace. Take some tips from Amundsen and prepare for uncertainty, because that is one thing you can count on.