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LEADERSHIP ESSENTIAL SERIES: TIP FOUR

Writer's picture: James RuleJames Rule

Updated: Feb 16, 2024


The behaviour of a leader can be the emotional thermostat of any team. In sport and in business, composure is a critical leadership essential.


In my rugby playing days I had the honour of being made captain of some of the teams I played for.






I would use controlled aggression in my on field performance to try and positively influence and inspire my teammates. The hope would be that they would follow my lead and bring a higher level of intensity to their performance and that team performance would lift as a consequence!


However, if I lost my composure this strategy quickly became counterproductive. Other team mates would follow my lead with indiscipline in their actions, prompting the referee to punish us with penalties, thereby compromising team performance.


I find strong parallels between sport and business in the need for composure, especially when engaged in back foot leadership.


I define back foot leadership as leading when situations or circumstances are not going your way. The need for composure in these times is key for two core reasons:


Decision making - Our ability to make the right decisions is significantly diminished if we lose our composure. How many quality decisions have we made in such a scenario?


Role model - Leaders are role models and their team will mimic their actions. Panic and anger can be infectious and sweep through an organisation. So too is composure. It can inspire staff to hold their nerve and take the actions necessary to navigate through the period of adversity they are facing.

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