How Leaders Can Turn Disruption into Opportunity, According to Ben Sands

In a recent LinkedIn post, Ben Sands explores the critical difference between how most leaders manage disruptions and how high-impact leaders leverage them as opportunities. Sands emphasizes that significant breakthroughs often manifest not as planned ideas, but as unexpected disruptions that can initially be perceived as problems.

He points out the common initial reaction to such events: “Most leaders experience them as problems to manage.” However, Sands argues that the true skill lies in reframing these challenges. “High-impact leaders learn to treat them as opportunities to uncover,” he states, underscoring that this ability is not innate but must be cultivated.

The Power of Reframing Disruptions

Sands illustrates his point with a personal anecdote about a senior leader he worked with during a period of significant organizational change. When a key operations leader unexpectedly departed, the predictable response was concern and frustration, with a focus on the immediate loss. This situation, however, created an opening for a younger, motivated team member who stepped into the void. This individual not only maintained operations but exceeded expectations, revealing leadership potential that might have remained untapped for years under normal circumstances. This experience, Sands notes, highlights how disruption can force the discovery of hidden talent and capabilities.

The team discovered a leader they didn’t know they had—only because the disruption forced the issue.

While such outcomes are easy to identify in hindsight, Sands stresses the difficulty of spotting these opportunities in the moment. He advocates for a deliberate mindset shift when disruption occurs, offering a three-step process:

1. Separate emotion from opportunity: While frustration and grief are valid responses, they should not dictate decision-making.
2. Zoom out: Leaders should consider how the current challenge could benefit the business in the long term (12–24 months).
3. Get an outside perspective: External viewpoints can help restore a broader vision that might be narrowed by immediate pressure.

Developing the Skill of Opportunity Spotting

Sands emphasizes that developing the ability to see opportunity within disruption is a skill that requires deliberate practice and support. He suggests that this is a core reason why leaders engage with coaches.

The Role of Coaching in Navigating Disruption

According to Ben Sands, working with a coach can help leaders in several ways:

• Challenge default, reactive responses to difficult situations.
• Facilitate the earlier identification of potential options and opportunities.
• Help leaders avoid making decisions driven purely by immediate pressures.
• Ultimately, assist in transforming disruptive events into sustainable growth.

He concludes by differentiating between managing disruption and mining it for value. “Most leaders manage disruption. The best ones mine it,” Sands states, encouraging leaders to view challenges not just as obstacles to overcome, but as potential sources of significant growth and innovation.

Seeing opportunity inside disruption is a skill. And like any skill, it develops faster with support.

Sands invites readers facing challenges to connect with him for a discussion, framing himself as a neutral sounding board to help uncover hidden opportunities within their current obstacles.