Leading through the storm: Conscious decisions in times of crisis

In 2018, I was leading a key operation in the Middle East. We had been working for months to consolidate strategic relationships, open new opportunities, and build something with the potential for regional impact. Everything was going according to plan until an unexpected political crisis changed the landscape in a matter of days.

Business ground to a halt. Meetings were canceled. And, most importantly, the safety of my team—many of them displaced, far from their families—began to be compromised.

I clearly remember the feeling: that mix of urgency, pressure, and loneliness that only comes when you're leading in the midst of uncertainty. When everyone's looking at you for direction, but you don't even know what the next step is. In times like these, one hopes to have a guide, a protocol, a clear roadmap. But the truth is that true leadership isn't measured when everything is flowing, but when the storm breaks and threatens to sweep everything away.

That morning, before making critical decisions, I felt the need to do something that, until then, hadn't been part of my daily routine: I paused to meditate. I took 20 minutes to breathe. I didn't have all the answers, but I was clear that I needed to return to center. To listen to something deeper than the background noise.

What emerged wasn't a magic bullet, nor a grand strategy. It was something more subtle but infinitely powerful: the reminder that my role wasn't just to protect a business, but to care for people. To sustain purpose. To lead not from fear, but from awareness. I decided that day to prioritize the team's safety, even if it meant pausing operations. I decided to communicate honestly. And, above all, I decided to trust that acting with integrity always brings clarity, even if it seems uncertain at first.

Today, years later, with renewed global tensions in the air, I returned to that memory. To that moment. And to a phrase a spiritual teacher shared with me during a retreat in Rishikesh: “True leadership does not seek to control the environment, but rather to elevate the consciousness of those around it.”

That phrase has stuck with me. Because it sums up, in a nutshell, what we often forget in corporate environments: that we don't lead just to achieve objectives, but to spark possibilities. We won't always be able to avoid storms, but we can choose where we ride them out.

Today I want to invite you to reflect on that type of leadership. Not the kind that reacts, but the kind that responds with presence. Not the kind that needs to have all the answers, but the kind that knows how to maintain calm and clarity when no one else can.

A leadership that isn't taught in MBAs, but that transforms teams, cultures, and destiny. A leadership that comes from within.

If you're interested in exploring this approach, you can delve deeper into The Transformational Executive, where I share practical tools, real-life experiences, and a comprehensive approach to transforming your leadership—and your way of living.

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