YOUR RANT: It's tough being a leader when everyone is scared out of his or her minds.

911 REPAIR: Leadership is always a challenge, but our current crisis can make it seem downright impossible. Which reminds me of a recent conversation with my 5-year old daughter, Frankie. We were driving in the car and she said, "An evil stepmother can kill the queen." I asked her where she heard this. She replied, "It was in a movie." What movie, I asked. "It's a Barbie movie, coming soon, in the spring of 2007."

Who knew that my kid has such encyclopedic knowledge of old DVD trailers? Unfortunately, she is not alone. Far too many leaders are living in the past, trying to simply dredge up old solutions for tackling today's challenges. Our current economic nightmare is unlike anything most of us have seen in our careers, soon even far worse than the dreaded 1982 recession. So we have to explore new strategies. That's why I've listed three Do's and one Don't, below, for leading more effectively in troubled times. For more, check out "The Taboos of Leadership" by Anthony Smith (Wiley, 2007).

-- DO see it from their point of view. I've learned that the most effective leaders are often the most empathetic leaders. The days of "drop down and give me 20" bosses are behind us. To really motivate people today you've got to understand where they are coming from, and that takes insight into their fears and motivations. Listen to your people, what they care about and where they're headed and you'll be much more successful.

-- DO overcommunicate. Fear creates a place where rumors can spread like wildfire. I've seen many offices paralyzed for days over a piece of news from the rumor mill that turned out to be false. That's why it's so important to go out of your way to overinform and overcommunicate with your people about everything you know.

-- DO celebrate. There is more than enough bad news out there. It can drain the life force of even the most optimistic person. That's why it's so important to celebrate, regularly. Not $35,000-commode-style celebrations. I'm talking about a simple "atta boy or atta girl," a surprise pizza party or giving an unannounced afternoon off for a job well done. Be the kind of leader that people actually want to work for.

-- DON'T expect your people to be blind. I once got an e-mail from a bookkeeper for a doctor's office. She said that her boss told her he didn't have the money to give her a raise. She wrote, "I take care of his money, I know about his boats, his vacations and exactly how much money is in the business's bank account." As a leader you need to understand your people watch you, they talk about you and they know more about you than you realize.

Follow these tips and your people won't want to kill the queen or the king at work; they'll be watching your back, instead.