Sometimes people take responsibility for their lack of opportunities. People often blame God when they don’t have the opportunity to do so. Intelligent leaders are the ones who see the opportunities and seize them.
You are like an attractive woman who approaches you with wings. Once you’ve seen her, you must grab her and wed her, otherwise, she might go elsewhere to someone else who will spot her and care for her.
Opportunities and leaders
Leaders know how to spot opportunities and can use their intelligence to seize them. While cynics complain at every opportunity thrown at them, terming them ‘threats’, optimists are grateful for every threat thrown at them, viewing them as opportunities. Leaders know that opportunity comes in disguise and they take advantage of them whenever they can.
Opportunities don’t come on a plate. They do what is right and capitalize when they come along. Jack Welch once remarked, ‘Leadership is seeing opportunity in tough times.’ In fact, tough times are the best times to spot opportunities, as most people are on the run towards safety.
Mark spent his time as a researcher at a research company. Due to recession, the business had to close and employees were forced out. All employees had to deal with this difficult time. Mark accepted the challenge and applied for employment at an academic institution where he could contribute his expertise. Mark actually joined a research group to improve his research skills which is essential for teaching.
After resigning as an academic professor, he joined a research company to spend at least one academic year. While he was able to have a lot of industry experience, including teaching and consultancy, he desired more knowledge in research. So he joined a research organization.
“Men make history and not the other way around. Society is not able to progress when there’s no leader. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” ―Harry Truman
Mark converted this threat of organizational closure into an opportunity as he was drawing close to one year’s experience, and began trying for a position as a professor in an academic institution. The interviewer was asked by the selection committee whether Mark had the ability to justify his position as an academician after he had been away from the institution for nearly a year. Mark responded by expressing his love for teaching and stating that he was joining the research organisation to broaden his knowledge.
He also added that research was an integral part of teaching, and academicians with research backgrounds could add more value to the teaching profession as they would be backed—and packed—with more information, which is usually missing in academic books. His response was overwhelming and he was offered the position of dean and senior professor at their business school.
Mark accepted the offer with pleasure and was a highly successful academician. It is clear that we have everything in our mind. It is important to know how we can turn threats into opportunities.
Probleme and perspectives
Each problem has multiple potential solutions. If you look at every threat carefully, there are many opportunities. This is only possible when we look at the whole picture. Leaders can see the hidden, which is what leadership requires. Therefore, leaders look for opportunities instead of threats. If one door is closed, leaders tend to look at what has opened instead of which one has shut. A pessimist can see threats within opportunities, while an optimist can see opportunities in dangers.
Most people are inclined to reduce threats. Leaders have an uncanny ability, however, to transform threats into opportunities and bring stability and growth to their businesses.
If we take a look at the senior leadership of companies and their strategic planners, it is clear that they are able to see opportunities within emerging threats. Their ability to transform threats into opportunities is uncanny. They do not lose pretty opportunities by saying ‘No’ too soon and ‘Yes’ too late. These two words are essential for a leader to be successful.
How to Convert Threats into Opportunities originally appeared on Addicted 2 Success.
How to Convert Threats into Opportunities was originally published on Addicted 2 Success.