Every Leader’s Guide To Taking A Punch
By: Austin Walker
Tags: Work, Management, Leadership, Business, Life

Have you ever worked for someone whose pride was based on his or her ability to step into a bad situation and force his or her will upon those involved? They are passionate about stepping in after it hits the fan and exerting their will on everyone else.

Have you ever worked for someone who saw his or her job not as the bringer of pain, but as a chaos sponge? Every time this leader steps into a situation, there seems to be peace instilled, not chaos exploding.

Which of those leaders do you lean to? Which of those leaders would you rather work for?

Most of us would rather work for the leader who is going to bring peace and absorb chaos, not one who’s going to force his or her will on those within reach.

Now the difficult part, think about your leadership. When things in your department go haywire, and the problems that you saw coming start to boil, what is your gut response? Do you berate the people around you for not being able to see the issue far enough in advance? Do you demean the people responsible for “doing their best, but not doing enough”? Do you threaten to force overtime, long hours, or take away perks until problems are fixed?

Are you making demands or asking questions? Are you making accusations or sharing responsibility? Are you going to your supervisors and taking the heat, or are you going to your supervisors and explaining why _____ dropped the ball?

Here is a leadership axiom a mentor told me early on in my leadership that has served me well at every level of leadership:

“GOOD LEADERS TAKE THE HIT.”

That means good leaders know when to absorb a blow. They know when to spot a problem, brace for impact, absorb the force, and keep on fighting. I would argue that taking hits is just as vital as landing haymakers. If you don’t know how to take a hit and someone lands a punch on your ribs, you’re going to have breathing trouble for weeks. It sidelines you, removes you from future fights, and leaves you gasping just to survive. When you know how to take a hit, the pain is still there…but the impact is far less lingering.

As a leader, you need to learn how to absorb chaos punches. You need to learn how to spot a problem, brace for impact, absorb the force, and keep on fighting.

Spot the Problem & Brace for Impact

When you see a problem on the horizon, start having coaching conversations with your team then. Don’t wait for “too late” to show up. When reports come in and you know the next quarter is going to be slim, make adjustments then! At the very least, prepare your key players with advanced warning. “We’re not there yet, but just as a heads up…because of x, y, & z, we may need to make some cuts so just keep that in mind as you’re planning.”

Absorb the Force

You also have to absorb the force. Know that you can’t dodge every single punch. Not every tragedy is one that you can side-step. Not every dip is one you can pass without blemish. As a leader, part of absorbing the force is taking the heat from other areas. Whether that’s investors, other departments, or your supervisor, you may have to absorb their force as well. That doesn’t mean that the team you lead gets out of a bad situation unscathed, but it does mean that they see you being held accountable for their actions. Now think back to the two leaders at the beginning of this article…the peace bringer and the haymaker…being a peace bringer (absorbing the force) is always going to payout in the long run.

Keep on Fighting

Last but not least, you keep on fighting. It would be poor leadership to make no adjustments after impact and “hope for the best.” Most often, once you’re through the problem and on the other side, there are going to be some wound-licking moments and some intense-preparation moments. You may need to spend some time realigning your team and reminding them of the vision. You may need to spend some time having crucial conversations to address the underlying problems that led to the issue. There may be cut-backs that need to be made to store resources during the feast so you can stay nimble during the famine. There may be staff reassignments that need to be made, systems that need to be adjusted, learning that needs to be implemented, or anything else. Continuing the fight isn’t acting like a punch was never landed. It’s ensuring as the leader that you are putting into play any key learnings that came out of the pain.

Pain doesn’t exist for fun. Pain exists for growth.

As the leader, it’s your job to take the hit. You need to be able to spot problems, brace for impact, absorb the force, and keep on fighting. If you’re relying on your haymakers to get you through a time of chaos, you’re asking for pain. Throwing good punches matters, but leaders don’t win by throwing haymakers, they win by absorbing chaos.

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