Survival to Success: Stay Solvent, Financially Secure Leading In Scary Times
Knowing how to manage and lead a team strategically to remain financially solvent during uncertainty is critical.
This is real life.
So there is no cause to panic that because of recent economic shakeups, tariffs, threats of a recession, funding withdrawals and wild market fluctuations, you will end up in financial ruin.
Your life will not mimic that of the fictional Victory Ratliff (so perfectly played by Parker Posey) in the recent finale episode of “The White Lotus,” when her husband, Timothy, says their lives are about to change because they have lost all semblance of wealth and prosperity.
“Nooooo.”
With planning calm, strategic, and intentionally transparent moves, you can reassure yourself, your colleagues, partners, customers, clients, suppliers, coworkers, and employees that with planning careful steps and actions, there will be no permanent disaster. It also may be better, but it does not need to be a professional cataclysm and financial wipe-out.
“Carpe the Chaos,” is the fifth Leadership Power Tool identified and created by Gloria Feldt, co-founder and president of Take The Lead. Feldt says that such chaos, as many are experiencing today in the workplace, requires us to recalibrate. “Chaos is an opportunity to innovate and think differently. We can use its energy to propel us forward.”
“#Chaos is an #opportunity to #innovate and think differently. We can use its #energy to #propel us #forward. –Gloria Feldt, Co-Founder & President of @TakeLeadWomen”
Learn more from Gloria Feldt on leading during turbulent times
Fitting that April is Financial Literacy Month, because while the surprising shifts have been coming at a quick pace from the federal government over the last three months, there are also scores of updated federal resources the government still provides to help individuals, entrepreneurs and business owners on staying solvent and successful in trying times.
The Small Business Administration provides support on retirement questions, employee queries, and much more.
Read more in Take the Lead on taking risks and wealth
Being prepared with information, intelligence, resources, and options is optimal. Not everyone is feeling perfectly primed.
“Being #prepared with #information, #intelligence, #resources, and options is #optimal. Not everyone is feeling perfectly primed.”
In its new “Pulse of Change” report surveying 22 industries in 20 countries and interviewing 3,450 C-suite leaders and 3,000 employees, Accenture found that most leaders do not feel fully prepared for the changes that are happening culturally and economically in 2025 and may continue to happen this year.
The research shows that in 2025, 57% of C-suite leaders feel they are not fully prepared for all consumer and social changes, with 59% saying they are not feeling prepared for economic changes, and 65% saying they are not fully prepared for geopolitical changes. Overall, 64% of employees say they do not feel fully prepared for all that is changing right now..
Read more in Take The Lead on financial wellness
This unease is reflected in the recent March drop in consumer confidence. According to The Conference Board, “the Expectations Index, which is based on consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions, decreased from 74.8 in February to 65.2 in March, its lowest level in 12 years. Note that a level of 80 or below for the Expectations Index historically signals a recession within the next year.”
Countering this low confidence can begin with getting prepared, asking for assistance, and gathering as much intel as possible. These are all keys to success, even in tenuous times.
In response, one option could be referring to McLean & Company's HR Guide to Scenario Planning offers “research that helps you go beyond risk mitigation by proactively identifying environmental trends, developing scenarios, and preparing next steps so that your organization can actually capitalize on potential opportunities.”
“#Countering this #lowconfidence can begin with getting prepared, asking for #assistance, and gathering as much #intel as possible. These are all #keys to #success, even in #tenuous times. ”
The 2024 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor reports that “women account for 40% of new business owners worldwide,” and that “women-led businesses generate an estimated $1.8 trillion in revenue annually in the U.S. alone.”
The first thing to do at a time that could lead to panic, is to learn as much as you can about changes, such as tariffs and how they can affect you, as well as investments, accounts, and reports. The next thing to do is to be as transparent as possible to all those connected to you professionally, your business, and your projections for the future, as well as your possible future decisions.
According to Fortune, “If a company is going through change, not addressing the elephant in the room or delivering a scripted speech will not reassure employees in a season of uncertainty. It’s similar to parents not acknowledging an illness in the family. In both cases, it’s obvious that something in the environment is wrong or different, but it doesn’t feel like the people you look up to are offering an explanation or guidance.”
Be the leader who offers insight, information, and guidance. Offer the pulse of the company or venture.
“Be the #leader who offers #insight, #information, and #guidance. Offer the #pulse of the #company or #venture. ”
Corie Barry, CEO of Best Buy, and at the time of her appointment the youngest female CEO in the Fortune 100 Listings, tells Investopedia, “Have those uncomfortable moments. Because my strong personal belief is it is those moments that cause you to grow the most yourself, but that also differentiate you the most in your career. “
Read more in Take The Lead on managing your stress now
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon recently commented that “the prospect of a recession has increased amid the uncertainties of a trade war and the new challenges facing CEOs who are unsure about how to plan for the future,” Yahoo Finance reports.
So literally take stock in the businesses you run or are connected with and see the possibility of how tariffs may affect them and what they may do to your portfolio.
But there are ways to address such uncertainty. It is essential to assess where you and your company are now financially. Check the balance sheet, take inventory, and see how your company responded to the last recession and also to the drop in business due to COVID.
Read more in Take The Lead on decisions during economic uncertainty
“Take a close look at the companies you own to try to ascertain whether there is a cause to be worried about tariffs, or not,” according to the Financial Post.
“Look at earnings, not stock prices. Pretty much every stock declined then, but the companies that could stay profitable were ‘safer’ and their stocks tended to recover faster,” The Financial Post reports.
According to Quick and Dirty Tips, “Women entrepreneurs are redefining what it means to be a leader across multiple industries. By focusing on innovation, community, and sustainability, female business owners are paving the way for future generations. As more women continue to break barriers and establish themselves as industry leaders, the business world will only become more diverse, inclusive, and successful.”
The industries where women are excelling now and are primed to create enormous gains in the future, according to Q&D, are health and wellness, a $4.5 billion industry, and coaching and online education, which is expected to be a $375 billion business by 2026.
Learn more here on Take The Lead’s coaching and online courses
As outside influences are swiftly changing, it is important for women leaders to take charge of their professional paths as well as their wealth and financial security.
“As outside #influences are swiftly #changing, it is important for #womenleaders to take #charge of their #professional paths as well as their #wealth and #financialsecurity. ”
Loretta McCarthy, a Take The Lead board member after its founding 10 years ago, and co-chief executive officer and managing partner of Golden Seeds, LLC, told Take The Lead earlier, “Just as we manage fitness and health, we have to articulate about wealth issues. We have learned how to be comfortable with spending and how it is invested. Women are in a lot of fields doing really well, they negotiate, use financial advisors, are managing assets.”
Weathering this difficult time is not optional. Approaching it with savvy insight and strategic shifts is optimal.
