The roar of rain combines with the whine of your engines. You jockey the throttles to stay on speed for the turbulent approach. Thick clouds reflect your landing lights. It’s almost blinding. Suddenly you descend below the ragged overcast and see runway lights, relieved to be on course. You tweak your glidepath closer to the approach end. Rechecking landing gear down, you cross the runway threshold and begin the flare. Your focus shifts to the horizon. Sink rate is good. Touchdown!

In Part 1, we looked at 3 key approaches to lead well—to stick the landing—especially in a storm.

Today we’ll add 3 more principles for success.

But first, why does this matter?

One motivation involves the short-term benefits. In a crisis, people look for stability and a cool head from their leaders. They want someone who communicates commitment and confidence—“our team will solve this”—while anchored in core values and truth. This approach sets up a safe landing…at the right destination. (In contrast, an explosive leader or unethical shortcuts eventually drive organizations into the ground.)

In the long run, leading well builds a legacy. Other leaders observe and replicate success. Even failures become opportunities to reset the approach and realign for a better landing. The team culture embraces challenges and leans in to resolve conflict. Risks are better understood and better managed. People feel their contributions really matter, and they stick around.

If this sounds like a desirable destination, then let’s explore three more ways to stick the landing:

1. Stay on speed.

Bumpy and gusty conditions challenge pilots and leaders alike.

If momentum stalls, your team may get caught behind the power curve. You may never reach the runway.

On the other hand, racing too fast can overstress the team. A stubborn decision to press ahead can cause you to overshoot the runway and end up in a ditch, with people scrambling for the emergency exits.

Stabilizing at an appropriate speed matters.

Do you have reliable feedback on the tempo of your leadership?

Some signals you’ll pick up for yourself. Are meetings bogging down with side issues? Are petty disagreements sapping energy from wrestling with major problems? Do some people seem disengaged…even bored?

On the flip side, are multiple team members stressed out? Are their deliverables constantly late? Do they seem to hide from you to avoid line-of-sight taskings?

Accept the probability your perceptions of tempo are incomplete. Fill in the blanks by checking in with your team—usually one-on-one. Some questions you might ask:

• How manageable is your stress level right now?
• What’s been occupying your thoughts?
• Where are you feeling stuck?
• What decisions or support do you need from me?
• How should I adjust my expectations for our team?

Questions like these may seem awkward at first. Don’t wimp out—lean in. You do want to stick the landing, right?

Expect some responses to be confusing—even contradictory. It will be a judgment call in terms of your adjustments as a leader. But at least you’ll have live feedback on how to set the throttles.

(In a future post, I’ll extend this principle to the tempo of your life as a whole.)

2. Shift your aimpoint.

To land well as a leader, make the most of the time. Don’t delay adjustments to your flight path and waste the runway you have available.

A shift forward is required in our thinking.

Imagine you gain a key leadership insight. You envision the implications for your behavior. (Perhaps even when reading this blog post!)

You tell yourself, “I need to get on that…once things slow down…once this crisis blows over….”

That’s like trying to land on a runway that doesn’t exist. It’s a mirage.

Life has a way of blowing up those carefree “somedays”…

Shift your aimpoint from someday to today.

What personal goal is important enough to step into today?

Set aside any illusions of perfection. They paralyze action. Instead, celebrate baby steps of progress.

(In my coaching, I help leaders move from insight to action to celebration…and thus more fruitful action.)

A correlation exists between regulating your leadership tempo (our first principle) and not procrastinating in your development as a leader. Finding a healthy tempo might be a vital developmental goal…so it’s best to start experimenting now! Also, once you’re comfortable soliciting team feedback to modulate your pace, your trust in their work will grow. You’ll gain margin to spend time on development instead of just production.

This leads us to our third principle.

3. Keep your eyes on the horizon.

Leaders land best when they set their eyes toward the future.

At first glance, this may seem at odds with the prior discussion. How can you live in the now and the future at the same time?

If you pay a mortgage, you already know the answer. There’s a price today to provide freedom later. The same goes for staying in shape. Quitting smoking. Taking your kids to church. Going out for a date with your spouse. (You did remember your anniversary, right?)

Are you a long-term investor…or a day-trader?

Sadly, many people lose focus and crash-land. Research indicates 7 out of 10 leaders don’t finish well. Let that sink in for a moment. It translates into crippled organizations and broken lives.

That’s not the legacy you want.

Fortunately, commitment today…and the day after…can write a better story.

Commit to periodic pauses in your daily flow to adjust your path with the end in mind. This can include developing yourself and others, strengthening your network, focusing on your most strategic contributions, or anchoring in your values (none of us are immune to the moral or ethical lapses that have sabotaged many a leader). I have a helpful resource to help pace your day with this perspective.

As you intentionally manage your tempo, make daily steps toward your goals, all while considering long-term benefits, you’ll beat the odds. You’ll stick the landing!