_ _ versity, Why Should a Leader Care?

(2026-01)

Tell me, when you read the title of this post, did you think I was going to talk about diversity?  I hate to disappoint you but hope you’ll read it anyway.  First off, I believe the topic of diversity (or DEI as some in the media call it) has been well covered and is a hot topic that is adding to the current “division culture” happening in the U.S.  While there is much I could write about diversity, I’d rather talk about adversity.

Hard times are uniquely valuable for leadership development.  When a leader is forced out of familiar territory by adverse situations, comfort is stripped away and character is revealed.  It forces leaders to make decisions with limited information.  If a leader is self-aware, they will grow and develop.  They build resilience and empathy, which are qualities followers respect most.

I view adversity as one of the most important crucibles for developing character and leadership skills.  I’ve heard it said that “friends show their true colors in times of adversity.”  The same applies to leaders – leaders show their true colors in tough situations or challenges.

My leadership skills were honed by going through adversity.  I remember several times I was tested.  Each time I learned something that became valuable later in my leadership journey.  I came up with five lessons I learned.  They are:

1. Resilience is built, not born.  Leaders who persevere through setbacks gain emotional stamina and learn to bounce back faster.  I’ve read a few books lately that talk about the concept of brain elasticity.  It’s been proven that a person can “rewire” their brain to cope and deal in different ways.  One of the first examples from my career that built my resilience was when I had to let an employee go because of downsizing.  It was in 1986 and I was in my first supervisor position at age 25.  The person I had to let go was a single mother who was a good performer.  She worked hard in a role she knew nothing about and was let go due to the need to reduce headcount in our division by five people.  There were four employees who decided to retire, so my employee was the only involuntary reduction.  I had to give her the news and escort her from the premises.  This was extremely hard for me as I’m very empathetic.  I can still remember everything about that day – the memories are indelibly imprinted.  Fortunately, a fellow supervisor (older and more experienced than me) took me to lunch and let me grieve.  I learned there will be times when a leader is to set aside personal feelings in the “greater good” of the enterprise.  This helped me deal with the emotional trauma.  It was good I learned this early in my career, as I was faced with many more staff reductions throughout my career.
2. Adaptability is survival.  Tough times teach leaders that rigidity kills momentum – the best leaders learn to pivot with humility.  I remember taking a new role in a business unit that I didn’t know much about.  I entered the job gaining support from my supervisor to take the first 90 days getting the lay of the land.  I fully expected to make no significant changes until I better understood how to improve the business.  It was a good plan, but as Mike Tyson said, “everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth.”  At my first leadership team meeting, I was put on the spot by the interim leader.  It was on the last day, after nine plant managers had presented their performance reviews.  I was asked to share my vision for the team.  I wasn’t ready to change major directions for the group, but this was my “punch in the mouth.”  I shared my observation that each of the nine plant managers were comparing themselves to each other.  I understood that partially, as they were trying to make a good first impression on the new boss.  I stated my vision simply and cleanly – “one network, nine nodes.”  I explained that I no longer wanted performance reviews that pitted them against each other.  The competition is external, not internal.  It turned out that my pivot was well timed.  Within two months, we faced a supply chain crisis of epic proportions.  The spirit of competition had shifted to collaboration and cooperation.  The network of nine plants came together to react positively in a short amount of time.
3. Vulnerability inspires trust.  During this supply crisis, I found myself speaking to operators at every plant.  I used our vision to get them to look externally.  I told them that while I wasn’t a plant operations expert, I was an experienced incident commander.  I shared that I wouldn’t tell them how to improve their plant operations because they were the ones who knew them best.  Instead, I used my commercial and incident command experience to focus everyone on the crisis at hand in the marketplace.  Openly admitting my inexperience rallied them to achieve better performance and increased their trust in me and my leadership.
4. Vision matters most when things fall apart.  The supply chain crisis shortly got much worse when our largest plant in the region was knocked out of service when it took a direct hit from a hurricane.  The “One Network, Nine Nodes” vision prompted a rallying cry for the entire network to increase production to fill the void.  I witnessed collaboration between union and management that had not been seen before.
5. Empathy deepens through struggle.  I was normally well composed with employees.  The hardest time I had was after the hurricane hit our plant.  I spent a lot of time working to ensure all our employees were accounted for.  Many of them had to find an alternate place to live because their homes were damaged so badly.  My heart went out to them as they tried to recover.  As I visited our other plants, I shared stories of their colleagues’ struggles.  I watched as they showed determination to do what they could to pull up the slack in production.  It was heart-warming.

I’m writing this post at the end of 2025.  I usually spend the last couple of weeks reflecting on the year.  I’ve had a bit of adversity this year, as have many of my family and friends.  I’m learning to reframe setbacks as feedback.  I can see this helping me adapt.  I’ve also seen people face big challenges this year and are using it to increase their resilience.  These people are coming out of adversity stronger.  They are inspiring me to do the same.

Are you currently facing adversity as a leader?  Are you coming out of it a better leader?  Remember, adversity doesn’t just reveal who you are as a leader – it refines who you’re meant to become.

I help my coaching clients resolve their problems by coaching them through the identification of issues and barriers standing in the way of excellence.  If you would like to discuss how coaching could help, email me at mike@mrhensonllc.com and we’ll schedule an introductory 30-minute session to see if there is value I could add to you.