Waikato Business News June/July 2020

Leadership in the
face of adversity
PEOPLE AND CULTURE
> BY SENGA ALLEN
Managing Director, Everest – All about people TM
www.everestpeople.co.nz
The crucible of great leadership is adversity.
Many iconic leaders
across the world
(Mandela, Churchill,
Shackleton) have built their
reputations by leading others
through seemingly intractable
situations. Most businesses
now face a period of high
uncertainty and difficulty.
Your own leadership capabilities
are likely to be tested in the
months ahead, wherever you
sit in your organisation.
Through the crazy times
of Covid-19, I suspect many
of us can recall examples of
great leadership, but it would
be fair to say that we also saw
leadership at its worst (note:
swallowing Dettol will not kill
a virus, Mr Trump!). In normal
times the continuum of
good and bad leadership may
not seem so pronounced, but
when the going gets tough the
difference is polarising. Why
is that? When business is
booming, and positivity is in
the air, leaders have a lot less
pressure on them than they do
when things are not going as
swimmingly. The way a business
owner or a chief executive
responds to adversity sets the
tone for the entire workforce
and has the power to either galvanise
employees into action
or strike fear and uncertainty
into their hearts. What we
have learned from Covid-19 is
that adversity will come at you
from anywhere and often at a
pace that you cannot control.
Though you cannot always
control the adverse conditions
you are faced with, you can
control your reaction to them
through resiliency. Resilience
is your ability to withstand,
recover and grow in the face of
adversity. Resiliency is what
you need when everything
blows up in your face.
What makes a truly resilient
and authentic leader during
adversity? A true leader
will not panic, they will stay
focussed on what matters and
is most important to them and
the team. They have a knack
for taking adversity, dealing
with it, and looking for hidden
opportunities. True leaders
understand challenges are
everywhere and remain flexible
when the unexpected happens.
They then take charge
and keep everyone moving
forward. Often, they lead by
example and from the front –
which means they set a benchmark
for employees to follow.
Resilience however is not
something that everyone automatically
has in their tool kit.
Emotional resilience is a learnable
skill, one which helps us
recover faster from setbacks.
Here are a few tips on how you
can build resilience:
• Embrace change – resilient
leaders try to look around
and ahead and develop situational
awareness.
• Learn from failure and have
a growth mindset – often
out of tough times, comes
mental toughness. Failure
is never the end of the road
for leaders with resilience.
• Stay positive. It is hard
to be a resilient leader
when you are a pessimist!
Research shows that a
positive outlook helps us
overcome those feelings
of failure in the first place.
Resilient leaders are not
afraid to take risks when the
situation calls for it. Instead
of being overwhelmed with
despair and fear, they use
optimism or relaxation to
manage their stress; then
think about changing their
approach.
We can never truly know what
lies around the corner and
any business will no doubt
have to encounter numerous
roadblocks. Covid19 will not
be the last adverse situation
we have to deal with. In the
immortal words of Winston
Churchill “success consists of
going from failure to failure
without loss of enthusiasm”.
Keep going and never, never,
never give up!
Honeywrap and Project
Jonah partnering together
for Plastic Free July
Honeywrap a Waikato
business is partnering
with Project Jonah to
support Plastic Free July 2020.
Plastic-Free July is a global
initiative that aims to encourage
people and businesses to
eliminate single-use plastic
for the month of July, which
aligns with the very heart of
Honeywrap. Project Jonah is
an organisation that responds
to whale and dolphin strandings
around New Zealand and
Wendy Oliver from Honeywrap and
Louisa Hawkes from Project Jonah.
whose staff educate people on
what can be done to help care
for and protect marine animals.
“We are privileged to have
such a huge diversity of whale
and dolphin species in New
Zealand and all New Zealanders
have the responsibility to
care for them”, said Louisa
from Project Jonah.
Honeywrap owner Wendy
Oliver says it made sense for
her business to work with
Project Jonah. Honeywrap
We are committed to conservation,
communities and commerce working in
harmony to create a sustainable healthier
world, which is why there is a great synergy
between our two organisations, working to
reduce plastic in the oceans.
produces beeswax wraps made
in New Zealand from certified
organic cotton and natural
ingredients. The wraps
are reusable, sustainable and
a natural alternative to plastic
food-wrap.
According to the World Economic
Forum, 8 million tonnes
of plastic ends up in our oceans
every year, or one rubbish truck
full every minute. “Each honey
wrap saves 75 metres of plastic
wrap from going into landfill
and our oceans,” said Wendy
Oliver. Honeywrap will donate
50 cents from every single
wrap and $1 from every multipack
sold during July to Project
Jonah, hoping to raise at least
$2020 for the charity.
Wendy says Honeywrap’s
philosophy aligns with Project
Jonah, inspired by nature and
with a passion for reducing the
amount of single-use plastic to
help preserve the planet for the
future. “We are committed to
conservation, communities and
commerce working in harmony
to create a sustainable healthier
world, which is why there
is a great synergy between our
two organisations, working to
reduce plastic in the oceans.”
She says Project Jonah
believes marine animals need
our help, and the Honeywrap
team agree, knowing that each
person who buys a honey wrap
is committed to making the
planet the best it can be. “We
From left, Louisa Hawkes from Project
Jonah, Wendy Oliver from Honeywrap
and Daren Grover Project Jonah.
hope people will support us as
we aim to give a record amount
to Project Jonah in 2020.”
For more information on
Plastic-Free July go to https://
www.plasticfreejuly.org/
For more information on
Honeywrap https://www.honeywrap.co.nz/