Look on the brightside

Everyone in the financial world is stepping back and asking, "What am I supposed to be learning from this?

So says Scott Eblin, who interviewed financial-sector leaders in March for a senior executive client. The leaders had taken away four lessons, on:

1. Delegation. Do the things only you can do and delegate more to your team.

2. Decisions. There are big decisions and small ones. Leaders are sweating the small stuff less often.

3. Demeanor. The joke is that if you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, then you probably don't understand the situation. These leaders are putting a high value on colleagues who remain calm and nonjudgmental in the face of strong, conflicting and emotional opinions. That approach has a calming effect on everybody up and down the chain of leadership.

4. Decompression. Smart leaders are allowing slack in the schedule so they can deal with unexpected problems.

— Adapted from "Four Things You Can Learn From This, Scott Eblin, Next Level Blog, www.scotteblin.typepad.com.