This week’s notes of leadership wisdom for reflection comes from a ConantLeadership conversation between Deanna Mulligan (CEO of Purposeful, former chair and CEO of Guardian Life Insurance Company) and Doug Conant (Founder of ConantLeadership, former CEO of Campbell Soup Company).

Selected notes from the conversation below:
* Leaders embrace three characteristics that have brought people through great crises in the past: Flexibility, empathy, and patience.
* Historically, empathy is highly valuable in times of change and disruption and is what gets us through, no matter where we are on the political spectrum.
* The modern penchant for instant gratification makes it too easy for leaders to forget that meaningful change takes time. The best leaders are the ones who stay the course.
* Staying the course requires a deep foundation to help you keep a steady hand on the wheel. Not only must your foundation be deeply personal, purpose driven, and performance oriented, it must also honor all the people you work with. It includes your unique purpose, values, and beliefs-from the ground up. The sturdier your Foundation, the more you can remain stable and withstand the winds of change.
* Before leaders can inspire or motivate others, they must clearly articulate why the group effort matters.  You must get to the heart of the problem first and help people understand what’s at stake in any given situation. Otherwise, you risk the organization splintering into chaos-or crumbling entirely.
* Never let a good crisis go to waste. Use the lessons from one wave of turbulence to prepare you for the next one.
* Leaders have a responsibility to grow and develop employees. And often, the untapped talent you’re in search of is right in your own backyard.
* Great leaders make meaning for people. They answer the question, Why am I here today? Why should I get up and come back in?.
* It’s vital for leaders to declare their purpose..: Your audience needs to hear you say it, needs to know that you mean it, that you’re willing to declare it. And that you have every intention of walking the talk.
* You can’t do it if you’re exhausted. Find the things that renew your resolve and restore your energy, and be disciplined about staying afloat so you can buoy the people around you.

Source:
– ‘Great Leaders Make Meaning’—2 Purpose-Driven CEOs on ‘People First’ Leadership; ConantLeadership; Vanessa Bradford; Apr 24, 2025