Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Leaders are born in times of crisis

On September 11th, 2001 an unlikely leader emerged in a time of crisis. A group of bankers were finishing a billion dollar merger plan in one section of the twin towers. They had the versacci (think it is spelled right, never had one) suits, alligator skin briefcases and rolex watches. After their meeting they were traveling from the 102nd floor down to the 1st floor when the first plane struck about 10 stories above them. They had no clue. The elevator stopped, lights went out and they began to take out their cute blackberries and try to find personal assistance. The janitor was on the elevator with them. He knew they were between the 75th and 77th floor. He also knew there was an air vent in the men's bathroom here. He used his mop handle to pry open the air vent. He convinced the bankers to climb out of there. He then directed them to a hidden staircase where they exited at the 1st floor. About 5 minutes later as they were walking down Wall Street, the building collapsed.

That day the hero the was not men in thousand dollar suits. The hero that day was a janitor.

Whoever emerges in a time of crisis will be the leader.

We can start in Genesis and go to the book of Revelation in the Bible and find leaders who emerged in times of crisis.

Think on this:
  • People are watching you in times of crisis in your personal life and organization.
  • They are watching for your attitude and approach.
  • People will ultimately deem you as their leader when they see you handle adversity correctly.

Leaders who start movements usually started these movements in the worst of circumstances and in great adversity.

1 comment:

  1. We all need to hear this word. Times of crisis will come to us all. This is a great blog to go back to next time a problem comes up.

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