It can be overwhelming to manage a team when there are several things that take the focus away from the goals. Good leaders have to remain calm, maintain perspective, and a good sense of humor amidst the chaos. In addition to that, leaders have to motivate and keep the spirits high. So how can the leaders maintain focus?
Follow the Project Schedule
Even though it seems impossible to achieve the goals, deadlines, milestones, and eventually project completion, a positive spirit and a never-give-up attitude can be contagious, and inspire the team members to push their boundaries, and come out of their comfort zones. So when the team members show their doubt about meeting the deadlines - inspire them, and maintain a positive can-do attitude, and the deadlines wouldn’t look impossible.
Decision Based on Facts
As a leader, you will not only have to manage the project but essentially manage the team member’s emotional states. It can be easy to loose focus and spent a lot of energy on managing personal conflicts. Although it is crucial to manage personal issues and conflicts, never take your eyes away from the facts that would help you make decisions. Quick decisions are an integral part of what makes an excellent leader. There would be times when you would not get the chance to introspect, and find the best possible solution. But decisions based on facts are more likely to succeed than the ones based on intuition. When you gain experience as a leader, and have taken several decisions based on facts, it becomes part of your intuitive decision making process.
Maintain Flexible Work Environment
Although the first point stresses the importance of meeting deadlines, maintaining a flexible work environment is important in improving productivity. When you give a team member the chance to attend his kid’s soccer game, what you are trying to say is “I am flexible with you.” It is amazing to see how team members respond when you are flexible. They will go the extra mile to meet the deadlines. Initially, it might seem counterproductive to be flexible with the work schedule but when the team meets the deadlines, you will understand how this approach can be effective.
Were you focused and motivated the team to achieve the goals? Include them in your MBA Application Leadership Essay.
About the Author
I am Atul Jose, Founding Consultant of F1GMAT, an MBA admissions consultancy that has worked with applicants since 2009.
For the past 15 years I have edited the application files of admits to the M7 programs: Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, Kellogg School of Management, and Columbia Business School, together with admits to Berkeley Haas, Yale School of Management, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, SDA Bocconi, IESE Business School, HEC Paris, McCombs, and Tepper, plus other programs inside the global top 30.
My work covers the full MBA application deliverable: career planning and profile evaluation, application essay editing, recommendation letter editing, mock interviews and interview preparation, scholarship and fellowship essay editing, and cover letter editing for funding applications. Full bio with credentials and admit history is here.
I am the author of the Winning MBA Essay Guide, the best-selling essay guide covering M7 MBA programs. I have written and updated the guide annually since 2013, which makes the 2026 edition the thirteenth.
The reason I still write and edit essays every cycle: a good MBA essay carries a real applicant's voice. Writing essays for F1GMAT's Books and Editing essays weekly is how I stay calibrated to what current admissions committees respond to.
Contact me for school selection, career planning, essay strategy, narrative development, essay editing, interview preparation, scholarship essay editing, or guidance documents for recommendation letters.