I can’t help but follow the social media bashing of United Airlines; especially the slew of new slogans to replace “fly the friendly skies.” The best I have seen are “putting the hospital in hospitality,” “we’ll drag you all over the world,” and “United now offering both red-eye and black-eye flights.” Would be funny if not a very unsettling true story. Talk about big sour lemons! Now worse than the unfortunate incident exhibiting horrifically bad judgment in dragging a paying customer off a plane is the fact that it took the United Airlines CEO, Oscar Munoz, three attempts to offer a sincere and compassionate apology. Yet another example of how one can be legally right yet morally wrong. I’d feel remiss if I didn’t continue to elaborate more on the topic of getting through the lemon times in both our professional and personal lives. There are days when life throws big lemons at our head full force knocking the wind right out of us. High pressure stressful situations often lead to tunnel vision and blindly following “established procedures.” At such times, we need to act like a great CEO and emulate those rare leaders who possess the hard-to-find qualities and capacity to act boldly and show grace under fire. Most days when we are faced with the unexpected and undesirable negative situations we can muster the energy and inner resources needed to make lemonade and move forward. But sometimes we just want to sit there staring at the lemon feeling sorry for ourselves. I have never subscribed to the idea that “life/God will not give more than we can handle.” In my work with people, I have witnessed times when life gives out more than a person can handle alone: loss, grief, and a lot of pain (physical or mental.) When the pain is so intense it exceeds our resources for coping, it’s time to seek professional help. In the face of highly stressful negative pressures, acting like a great CEO means having the mental strength and capacity to use problem-solving strategies and utilize the higher order thinking and coping skills necessary to overcome adversity. No CEO has a lemon-free path to success. Many things go wrong along the way. They operate within a business environment characterized by extremely high-pressure, volatile market conditions, and frequent sudden changes. At times, the choice is between bad, very bad, and plain horrible. Great CEOs roll with the punches. They are those who lead their companies to success managing the negatives beyond their control. While great CEOs are highly competent in soliciting input and gathering information, ultimately, they are completely alone in making the final decision, and they are the ones to be held accountable for the consequences. In the HBR article "Three Traits Every CEO Needs" Justin Menkes lists three traits that CEOs need to thrive in today’s tough business environment. You are the CEO of your life. How are you performing as the CEO of your company, the captain of your ship? Are you taking charge of directing your home and professional life when managing stressful work or personal situations to reach the highest possible success? We can’t control what happens to us, but we have the power to define how we respond to things. Develop these three traits to be successful: Be – 1. Realistically Optimist: maintain a positive outlook within reason. Set and purse big goals but be prepared to deal with the challenges and the difficulties on the road ahead. I’ve had ups and downs in my career, and one of the most important lessons that I’ve learned is to face my fears and believe that a better future is possible if I keep trying. When dealing with real crises, the best approach is to maintain composure. Panic will distract you from seeing the opportunities right in front of you. And there are opportunities and choices even in difficult situations. “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” ~ Viktor Frankl 2. True to Purpose: find a clear purpose to which to commit. You need to believe in what you do to withstand all adversity and hurdles and to triumph over hard times. When you have a clear purpose, you find the strength to handle the rough patches and push forward to continue the course. “Working hard with purpose is what separates the good from the great.” ~Thad Matta 3. A Great Problem-Solver: when things get complicated, simplify them. In stressful times, we tend to experience brain overload, which makes it difficult to figure out the steps to handle the issues and fix the problem. The key is to be orderly and systematic in our thinking. Great leaders have a keen ability to simplify complex ideas and issues to resolve difficult situations. They are able to break down complex problems into manageable components. “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.” ~ Colin Powell How is your company doing? Are you being the best CEO you can be to handle any lemons with grace and achieve top level success?
