Success Advice
How to Become a Proven Wartime Leader

If you’d like to learn how to become a leader so you can influence people to act, sign up for the free 90-Day Master Class hosted by the founder of Addicted2Success.com, Joel Brown.
For businesses and society, these crosswinds have created a war on everything: on traditional leadership, on the role of companies, how we live, and how we plan for the future. Success in these turbulent times calls for wartime leadership.
In 2020, it’s business as usual, and leaders will be required to fend off a range of existential threats. These could come from a wide range of sources including increasing geopolitical instability, social disenfranchisement, polarization, macro-economic change, climate change, corona pandemic, and so forth.
The role of a wartime leader
A wartime leader is led by the very specific circumstances of their time. A wartime leader is hyper-aware and ever questioning, constantly articulates and demands adherence to their business purpose, has a long-term guiding vision, has excellent intelligence networks to seek insight and information from a broad range of sources and channels and isn’t afraid to pivot their business or strategy to a responding threat. They can also rapidly refocus people, skills, assets and revenue streams accordingly, and ideally in anticipation of it regardless of the accepted wisdom.
The style of leadership that resulted in business growth and profitability in previous decades will no longer be enough. Leaders will be forced to rethink traditional boundaries of competition, market, and industry along with navigating new pathways to collaboration, development, or service delivery in light of the evolving conditions.
This is an opportunity for leaders to look beyond traditional business metrics such as profit margins and shareholder returns to really consider and create purpose-driven organizations.
A leap beyond social responsibility, this means considering the long-term, positive impact – or legacy, if you will – they will have on all of their stakeholders and touch-points including their employees, their community, and their environment.
Maintaining the same mindset that worked in previous decades will simply not serve us in the future. Will our leaders step up to become wartime leaders or will they surrender to the challenges of time?
“The task of the leader is to get their people from where they are to where they have not been.” – Henry Kissinger
Important aspects of wartime leadership:
1. You Are Not All-Knowing (And you don’t have to be)
Remember this, “The ability to focus, obsess, and chalk out priorities is vital, and this skill is not one that comes easily. It comes from the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn the battlefield.”
Stop predicting how long this may be. None of us know. Instead, focus on what your business needs to do to survive and win the market. Get closer to acquisition than awareness. Focus on what you can do today to be better off tomorrow. These are times of war – living to the next day matters.
2. Over-communicate
None of us know what will happen in the next weeks and months. Last week already feels like a year ago. For your team, over-communicate – especially when working from home, in isolation, and in uncertainty.
Keep the team up to date on as much as possible. Help them prioritize activities that have the biggest revenue opportunities. Have them take care of each other. Teach them how to think like a soldier – doing what needs to get done to get to the next day, helping pick up their fellow employees when they are down, and focusing on the task at hand.
Don’t forget, “A wartime leader has top priorities locked in, and is in a position to specialize in these elements with razor precision.”
“Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know.” – Jim Rohn
Conclusion
Just as a chess grandmaster is in a position to see the entire board and not only a couple of moves ahead, so must a wartime leader. The ability to focus, obsess, and chalk out priorities is vital, and this skill is not one that comes easily.
It comes from the ability of a wartime leader to learn, unlearn, and relearn the battlefield.
Understanding the landscape and atmosphere during which the battle is fought is crucial.
Finally, the simplest wartime leader knows the way to lead. The best commander-in-chief knows the way to rally the troops and keep them motivated. Whether it’s down within the trenches or within the room, creating a bond with the soldiers that keeps them going is the mark of an accomplished wartime leader.
Understanding the landscape and atmosphere in which the battle is fought is crucial. If tough decisions need to be made, the resolve required to do so comes from a place of experience and knowledge. It takes courage to make unpopular and problematic decisions and the wartime leader must know that.
What do you think is the defining trait of a leader? Share your thoughts with us below!
Personal Development
7 Mistakes Young Men Should Avoid To Become More Confident In The Digital Age
True confidence comes from evidence.
Success Advice
The World Needs More Tough Leaders: Here’s How to Become One
The leaders who stand the test of time aren’t made in calm waters.

In today’s world, leadership is under a microscope. From corporate scandals to political controversies, trust in leaders is at an all-time low. Add in global recessions and economic uncertainty, and it’s no surprise that many question whether leaders are capable of guiding us forward. (more…)
Success Advice
The Most Overlooked Soft Skill In Business
It’s a skill that can be learned, practiced, and refined over time, and it’s one of the most valuable soft skills you can acquire.

Negotiation isn’t just for boardrooms or business deals; it’s a life skill. From asking for a raise to resolving conflicts at home, to reaching agreements with friends, negotiation underpins our ability to communicate, influence, and find solutions. (more…)
-
Life4 weeks ago
The Subtle Signs You’re Losing Yourself And How to Find Your Way Back
-
Success Advice4 weeks ago
How “I Have a Dream” Became the Most Powerful Speech in History
-
Life3 weeks ago
How Sports Quietly Build Kids’ Emotional Intelligence And Why It Matters for Life
-
Entrepreneurs3 weeks ago
The Hidden Legal Protections Most Entrepreneurs Don’t Know They Have
-
Mentor3 weeks ago
How To Become A Great Mentor In The Digital Age: A Complete Guide
-
Change Your Mindset2 weeks ago
5 Mental Shifts to Transform Your Life and Unlock Your True Potential
-
Coaching2 weeks ago
Why Successful Leaders Are Great Coaches
-
Scale Your Business2 weeks ago
The Secret to Customer Loyalty No One Talks About