Leaders plan and execute a strategy, scenario plan for alternatives, and mitigate risks. However, one’s subjective expectations often do not align with the objective reality. The effect from this cause is the requirement to respond to crises without sufficient time to think/plan/prepare.
In Machiavelli’s The Prince, he details the unexpected events that must be dealt with….not completely, but to a certain level of control so that one handles the situation versus being overwhelmed by it. This requires principle-based decision making.
Leaders can have fortune and misfortune, lucky and unlucky happenings, etc. It is not the situation, but how they handle the situation that makes them a leader…..or not.
Do you use principle-based decision making in unplanned situations?
