During your tenure as a leader, the gauntlet may include crises of various magnitudes. People will look to you to bail them out of difficult situations. They will require you to have closing skills to come to their rescue. In real estate, a closer is someone with the capability to wrap up the sale. In sports, The Closer is the person you can go to when the game is on the line, to take and make the most critical shots. This individual has a certain strength of the will to enable them to courageously execute this role. Everyone likes someone they can count on when times are tough. Especially, when there is a crisis and therefore a heightened sense of urgency.

Dependability and reliability are words to describe people’s confidence in the leader with a reputation for coming through at crunch time; the leader who comes through in the clutch.

What does it take to develop The Closer Mentality? How do you put yourself in circumstances where you can develop this series of skills? First, it requires practice to acquire the mindset to rise to the occasion and conquer the crisis. You must simulate pressure scenarios, in addition to real life examples to grow this mental muscle.

Secondly, you must have courage to take the risks to throw yourself into challenging environments, confident that you have the competence to succeed. When experience and courage enable you to acquire the skill; you should hone the skill, when you own the skill. And with ownership comes great responsibility and great rewards.

Coming Through in the Clutch    

It is late in the game and their team is behind;

The runners are always in scoring position.

A series of scenarios flash through your mind,

You choose the one to vanquish the competition.

You are often the hero, never the goat;

You challenge decisions to keep their dreams afloat.

The game’s on the line. You’re remarkably in touch.

You are standing with your customer in the clutch.

Carnivorous competitors want market share.

Businesses are contested on every side.

They need a unique position to shift the tide;

And a committed workforce inspired to share

Discretionary effort to strengthen their peers,

From wells of dormant potential, hidden for years.

The client is eager, their prognosis is such,

They will profit from you, coming through in the clutch.

A tidal wave of change is attacking the shore,

Conventional structures are taking a beating.

Their vital signs are strong, and their values are core.

The crucial conversations have them deleting

Old tactics tried and false, that were once tried and true,

As they evolve and execute, transcend and do

What is expected for customers need so much;

So, they need you to come through for them, in the clutch.

Copyright © 2014 Orlando Ceaser

Reprinted with permission from Leadership Greatness through High Performance Poetry by Orlando Ceaser

Copyright © 2018 Watchwell Communications, Inc.

Personal Reflections

1. Are you a person that people call on in difficult situations?

2. Describe an experience where you demonstrated The Closer Mentality?

3. Are there situations where you are reluctant to state your point of view?

4. What can you do to overcome this resistance?

5. Identify a situation where you will demonstrate dependability.

6. The Closer Mentality requires action, so that people know that it exists. Make it a habit to routinely look for instances where you can strengthen your reputation for dependability.

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