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When US Airways flight 1549 Captain Chesley Sullenberger pulled off the ‘Miracle on the Hudson' safe landing in the Hudson River, the world called him a hero. At Senn Delaney, we call him a high thriver. <br />
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This amazing story of calm under fire and creatively overcoming incredible challenges offers a compelling lesson for business leaders seeking to survive and thrive amid global economic chaos. <br />
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The veteran pilot and crew were intuitively operating at the higher levels of what we have defined as a thriving state of mind based on findings of a 2007 collaborative study with three prominent U.S. business schools.<br />
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People who are considered to operate in high-thriving states of mind have learned to or are able to innately balance three critical psychological states of mind:
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<li>vitality</li>
<li>learning mindset</li>
<li>purpose and direction</li>
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Capt. Sullenberger had a supreme amount of confidence that he could successfully land the airplane on the Hudson River. He had a clear sense of direction and purpose: land safely. He was not afraid: he maintained awareness and a sense of confidence that belied his circumstances. He was totally focused, as were the flight attendants. <br />
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His comments to CBS news anchor Katie Couric demonstrate the three principles of a thriving state of mind. “It was obvious to me from the moment that we lost the thrust that this was a critical situation… I knew I had to solve this problem.” (This illustrates the learning mindset.) “My focus was so intensely on the landing, I thought of nothing else. (This demonstrates purpose and direction.) I was sure I could do it.” (This shows vitality and confidence.) <br />
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<strong>New Thriving Global Leadership Survey™ reveals that people who operate in a high-thriving state of mind do better during crisis</strong><br />
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The high-thriving state of mind of the flight 1549 crew affirms the findings of our new Thriving Global Leadership Survey™. In December 2008, we surveyed thousands of leaders and managers from more than 60 global companies, representing a wide range of industries to understand how the economic crisis is impacting our clients. We also sought to discover whether leaders were experiencing and reacting to the crisis differently if they were operating from a high-thriving or lower-thriving state of mind.<br />
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We found that there is a striking difference between how leaders in lower-thriving states and leaders in high-thriving states are experiencing and responding to the crisis. <br />
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<li>High-thriving leaders feel twice as stable and secure as lower thriving leaders during these difficult times — critical elements for balanced judgment.</li>
<li>High-thriving leaders show a significantly greater sense of belief in the future, confidence, direction, optimism and lack of fear — critical elements of effective leadership.</li>
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<strong> Why your leadership's thriving state of mind is important</strong><br />
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Through extensive research, we have clearly defined the state of mind of Thriving Leadership™, and have proven that high thrivers perform better and achieve better results, including in times of crisis. <br />
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Organizations around the globe are facing unprecedented, even dire challenges. With each day comes more challenging news. Cost cutting, layoffs, closures, structural reorganization and strategy shifts are the norm. As a result, personal and organizational anxiety, insecurity and instability are rampant. <br />
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Top leaders of even the most resilient companies can benefit from understanding how their leaders and managers are handling this kind of broad-based, universal crisis, and then take action if needed to get their leaders' heads in the game. <br />
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Getting a clearer picture of your leadership's level of thriving will enable you to evaluate how it might be impacting your organization's ability to survive and thrive. <br />
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If you download the complete article, <em>Why State of Mind Matters in Times of Great Challenge</em>, you can take a quick quiz to assess your leadership's thriving state of mind. It will help you to understand whether you need to move the organization up to a higher level of thriving to positively impact performance. <br />
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<strong>Can your organization reach a thriving state? </strong><br />
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There are many benefits to having your leaders and managers at the high end of the Thriving Index™. But how do you get your people there who are not there today? <br />
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<li>We can help you get a clear snapshot of the level of thriving of your organization's leaders and managers. </li>
<li>We can compare this to a normative database and share the results to help you understand this important new insight into leadership effectiveness and performance. Based on results, you can identify areas of strength and weakness and the impact it may have on getting your company moving forward to meet the challenges of your industry and your specific company during this crisis and beyond.</li>
<li>We can help guide your leaders to higher levels of thriving through an evidence-based, pragmatic performance model that can be experienced, practiced, learned, internalized, reinforced, applied and measured. </li>
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For more information about our Thriving Global Leadership Survey™ and creating a Thriving organization, contact us in the U.S. at (562) 426-5400 or in London at +44 (0)20 7647 6060.<br />
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<a href="http://www.senndelaney.com/sd_thought_papers.html">Click here to select and download Jim Hart's related thought papers</a>, Why State of Mind Matters in Times of Great Challenge and Creating Superior Business Results Through a Thriving State of Mind.<br />
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<a href="http://www.senndelaney.com/02_james_hart.html">Jim Hart</a> is president and CEO of Senn Delaney. He has 25 years of experience working with top leaders of Global 1000 and Fortune 500 companies to create Thriving Leaders and organizational cultures that consistently deliver better results. Jim spearheaded the 2007 Thriving Leadership global research project with faculty members from University of Michigan Ross School of Business, University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and University of California, Irvine Graduate Business School.<br />
