“If you can keep your head, when all about you are losing theirs…yours is the earth and everything in it” – From “If” by Rudyard Kipling.
This is my all-time favorite poem. The message is simple: strong leaders keep their wits in difficult situations. They have learned that panic does not lead to sound decision making. Stress, information overload, demanding expectations…they can all cause us to want to lose our minds and unload on someone, somewhere.
But the great leaders are able to remain calm, scope the situation, and adroitly develop a response to a challenging situation. And the wrong solution might be a rapid, loud and aggressive response. But they make that decision, thinking soundly…not after having lost control of their emotions. Read the full poem here.