By Gregg Thompson

2009 promises to be an incredibly difficult year for most companies. The world economy is in tatters, consumer confidence is in the dumps, bankruptcies are rampant, massive layoffs are imminent, and the entire financial sector is in chaos. Most of us are facing the worst recession of our working careers. What a wonderful opportunity for the organization leader! Now is your time.

Get ready. The unremitting leadership challenges of 2009 will test you as you have never been tested before. Will you triumph or be found wanting? Let’s look at this haunting question from an unusual vantage point. Let’s take a backward look ahead.

In the timeless movie It’s a Wonderful Life, Jimmy Stewart’s character is taken into the future by a novice angel named Clarence to see a dismal version of the future without him. Unaccustomed though I am to the role, allow me to be your angel for a moment and take you to January 1, 2010. Unlike Clarence, however, I am going to show you the future with you at your very best as a leader.

My hope is that you will be able to look back on 2009 and say the following:

1. I did not lie. Oh, many times I was sorely tempted as I faced the slings and arrows that accompany leadership in difficult times, but I didn’t yield. I decided at the beginning of the year that I would tell the unvarnished truth to everyone associated with my organization and my business…my staff, my colleagues, my boss, my customers. No more spinning, half-truths, and managing-the-news. It wasn’t easy. Job losses, compensation reductions, career changes, sales decreases, reorganizations, business losses…all difficult issues, but I decided that people are not fragile. They did not break when I told them the truth.

2. I took the hit first. 2009 was a year of sacrifice for everyone in my organization, and I made sure no one sacrificed more than I did. I worked harder and longer than anyone else in the organization. I took more risks, deeper pay cuts, more responsibility, and less credit. Whenever suffering, hardship, and misery came our way, I was first in line.

3. I was a true servant. This was very hard. With markets crashing, sales plummeting, and my very livelihood threatened, I often found it difficult to have a servant’s heart, but I am proud to say that I did. All year, I could hear Jimmy Stewart’s voice saying “Just remember this, Mr. Potter - that this rabble you’re talking about, they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath?”

4. I was a coach. Surprisingly, everyone in our organization says that 2009 was the best year of their career. They felt special all year. They were challenged and they were affirmed. They were held accountable for mission-critical outcomes that stretched their performance far beyond anything they had ever done before. We won’t be doing performance appraisals for 2009. No need. Everyone was an “A”.

5. I shared the pain. I resisted the urge to turn to that old imposter of a friend: autocracy. The allure of short-term gains was powerful, but collaboration, participation, and involvement defined our year. We suffered together, toiled together, and triumphed together. Some call it teamwork, but we call it community. We truly worked for each other. The burdens would have been far too heavy to bear alone. We would have failed if I had walked this road alone.

6. I crafted a big, new story. Well, it was really more our big story. The organization galvanized around our “Survive and Thrive in 2009” plan. Everyone was involved. Everyone had a starring role. It became a cause, a movement. Looking back, the business environment was far worse than we had imagined, but it was surprisingly rich with undiscovered opportunities. It took the whole organization to find them, but find them we did. We survived and thrived.

2009 was such a wonderful year. I can hardly wait for 2010!