In a leadership context, the leader is accustomed to dealing with challenges on the road. Guess what happens when the leader decides to go off-road. Challenges turn into problems.
And there comes a time when a solution doesn’t exist…unless the leadership team creates it!
The fifth wheel is usually there, so visible and hidden at the same time.
How many leaders and leadership teams will use it to unstuck themselves, their people and their company?
Creating new possibilities is a demanding leadership task. It requires time, preparation, competence, tools, hard team work, mental clarity and courage, among others.
Since each one of these factors constitutes a necessary but not sufficient condition, all of them must be present simultaneously as long as the leader and the leadership team stay involved.
In extremely difficult situations one of the leadership crucials is the ability to neutrally firstly assess and secondly process as follows:
a) Assess all the relevant systemic, extrinsic and intrinsic obstacles, effects and resources
b) Process the practical, logical, emotional and mental levels of the solution.
These are the two out of the four pillars that I use to help clients start creating a unique solution, partly or completely invisible to them few minutes ago.
No matter how difficult the situation is, chances are it will work. Because the fifth wheel is there. Every car has got one, therefore the fifth wheel does not make any difference in an off-road race. The driver does!
Yiannis Koutsoumaris
Master Leadership Coach and Trusted Adviser, typically engages in medium-long term leadership advancement assignments with CEOs, to be promoted to CEOs, large scale business owners and political leaders. Twenty years of international corporate experience and more than 7000 hours in one-on-one c-level and political coaching sessions.
