Steady When the Ground Gives Way
On the hard days, your team takes its steadiness from you.
I joined Morgan Stanley in October 1987. One week later, on October 19, the market had the worst single day drop in history. We lived on bonuses in those years because base salaries were low, and a good part of our savings went with the market that morning. I was charged with starting a department from scratch. I did not have a plan for a crash. What I had was the next decision, and then the one after that.
I learned something in that stretch that 18 more years on Wall Street only confirmed. The people who came through were the ones who could feel the fear and still choose the next sensible move, while the loudest reactions in the building tended to burn out fast. I was soft-spoken and unsure of a great deal back then. I could still do that one thing.
The leaders I coach are living a slower version of that morning
AI is not a single crash. It is a steady tremor under the work, resetting what clients expect and what teams can do, month after month. The pressure does not announce itself. It shows up as a low hum of uncertainty that a senior leader brings to every conversation.
Responsive costs more than reactive, and it is worth it
Under that hum, the reactive move is to grip harder, to push the team and defend the numbers and fill up the calendar so there is no space “to feel the ground move”. The responsive move is quieter and harder. Name the fear to yourself, and still make the one clear decision in front of you. Teams read which one you are doing, and they set their own steadiness to yours.
One honest test
In your last hard week, did you make decisions from the fear or from the next right step? A leader working on this can point to a moment they felt the pull to react and chose to respond instead. If every recent hard call came with a spike of urgency behind it, the tremor may be leading you more than you are leading through it.
Composure is not something you are born with. You practice it on the days you least want to.
Where to look next
If you want an honest read on where you stand, in yourself or across your leadership team, start with the Leadership Bottleneck Diagnostic. Ten minutes, four dimensions, a clear picture of how you lead under pressure.
Asks the questions while things are still calm.
Raju Panjwani
Founder of Live Masterminds, Inc. | Former Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. He works with senior leaders in IT services and technology consulting, helping them see themselves more clearly and lead through what comes next.
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