• Focus – You need to remember that business, along with life, is a series of peaks and valleys, ebbs and flows. When business is prosperous it is easy to visualize your goals and follow that tunnel vision needed to reach them. On the flip side, following a downturn in the economy and seeing numbers changing because of forces out of your control can be detrimental to your focus. In these times you need to look towards the long term and “ride the storm”

• Finances – Where can you tighten up? There are a few different avenues that you can take in order to keep the company  moving forward and it won’t be easy- mostly when it comes to cutting hours and pay but what you are able to learn from these difficult decisions is how important it is to communicate. Be honest and open with your team, informing them of exactly where you stand and why you are making the choices that you are.

• Flexibility – Find a need, and fill it. Now is the time that forces your creativity, promotes diversifying and gets you pursuing leads. The times of being too busy to take on new work aren’t present and you may need to take different actions for the next while, not knowing how much longer that next while will be.

• Creativity – This goes along with flexibility and diversifying.  Your creative juices really flow when you know that you aren’t just day-dreaming, you are really striving to make a connection between ideas and reality. 

• Endurance – When the easiest attitude to fall back on is “negativity” it can take everything you have to remain poised and remain positive. As a leader, it is absolutely essential that you set the standard for enduring this time. Keep optimistic, surround yourself with your closest friends, family and mentors and keep moving forward. Not only will your company thank-you for it, but the community as a whole, who needs your leadership now more than ever. 

Do you have any strategies you and your team have adapted to lead through an economic downturn? Share them in the comments section below.