It’s official, according to the FT, this recession has it’s own name: “The Great Recession”,  Not quite as illustrious as his grand father, “The Great Depression”, but not too bad all the same. So, if you are feeling a little frustrated by the slowness or the weakness of the economic recovery, don’t be concerned, you’re not alone.

Uncertain Recovery

Having lasted 18 months this present recession has already lasted longer than it’s two predecessors the recessions of 1973 and 1981. But more importantly in doesn’t feel like we are in a recovery mainly because it is not generating jobs and also because the increase en GNP in relation to this recession’s low point stands only at 3% compared with the 6.2% increase after the 1973 recession and 7.7% increase after the 1981 slowdown. With this “recovery” it is understandable that people are feeling a little lost.

All of this shows one thing to be certain, that certainty itself is in pretty bad shape. No longer can we predict the future based on what we have lived in the past, no matter how rigorous is our analysis. So what does all this mean for people who have to exercise leadership. It means that the task of generating hope for the people that we lead, one of the most essential facets of leading, is going become harder and harder, especially if like me you work in a country like Spain were a high percentage consider the ideal future to be obtaining a permanent job as a public servant. Depressing, isn’t it?

Ideas for generating hope

Personally, I don’t find not knowing what is going to happen tomorrow particularly threatening, on the contrary, I find it quite stimulating. Perhaps I am a little odd or perhaps it’s the result of having had my own company for the last twenty years. Uncertainty has become a way of living. Through this experience I have come to see that the only thing that is truly certain is death. Once you accept this, not knowing what is going to happen next week or in a year’s time becomes less of a worry.

But how can we help the people we lead be less concerned about uncertainty generated by this different recession. Here are some ideas:

• Through faith in yourself help your people develop faith in themselves as this helps reduce the fear of an uncertain future.
• Don’t let yourself get depressed when things don’t go the way you wanted them to. Epictetus said it very well 2,000 years ago (http…) this way you will be a model for the people that follow you.
• Look for new opportunities in places that you haven’t looked before.
• Invest time and money in your own learning and allow you people to do the same. A year ago I didn’t even know what a social network was and I must admit that I had a little fear about doing things in Internet. Now I am active daily in Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin and I have my own blog, both in Spanish and English. I even have some followers. Not only am I having a lot of fun, but also my own learning is creating new and unexpected opportunities. Learning is a great remedy to fear.
• Celebrate the small victories that you team produces, thus helping them see that they are making progress.

There is no doubt that we are suffering the consequences of a deep and tough recession. It is also clear that the world is changing more deeply and rapidly that it ever has in the past. But life on earth did not disappear after the recessions that came before this one and the world has always undergone great changes. In the end, change is always an opportunity; it just depends on how we face it.