The Leadership in Action Series: On Leading in Times of Change

Wired to Inspire: Leading Organizations Through Adversity

Meena S. Wilson and Susan S. Rice

Times of adversity often give rise to unpredictability, fear, anxiety, and loss of confidence. Such circumstances call for inspirational leadership, which gives employees the motivation, commitment, and productivity to take advantage of the opportunities lying on the other side of what seems to be a dark curtain of misfortune.

A software developer with an established product and a history of profitability has to deal with the bursting of the dot-com bubble and the collapse of the telecommunications market. A national textile industry trade association, contending with bankruptcies, consolidations, and plant closings among its members because of foreign ...