Difficult and uncertain times test us as leaders. When the ground shifts beneath us, we not only have to help our teams and organizations change, we must also change ourselves – how we lead and what we do. These times can be lonely and, frankly, scary. This article is designed to provide some practical advice to help leaders manage crisis and come out the other side not only having survived it, but better for it.
Secure your own mask first.
Before any plane leaves the ground, flight attendants will recite the oxygen mask rule, some variation of “Should the cabin lose pressure, oxygen masks will drop from overhead. Please place the mask over your own mouth and nose before assisting others.” In any crisis at work, the same rule applies. We cannot help others if we do not have the oxygen we need. This means practicing self-care and making sure we are mentally in a good place and able to help others. Some ways to “secure your own mask” include the following:
- Step away from the crisis. Sounds counterintuitive, but it isn’t. In his book The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work (Crown Business, 2010), Shawn Achor cites research from the American Psychological Association that found when “the brain can think positively, productivity improves by 31 percent, sales increased by 37 percent, and creativity and revenues can triple.” It is precisely during a crisis that creativity and innovative ideas can help, and we can best do that when our minds have some time to reframe and recharge. If you cannot take an entire day away, take a short break: read an article or chapter of a book, call and talk with another leader or mentor, take a long walk or run. Find something that brings you joy, rejuvenates, and inspires you.
- Learn something new. Our minds are also more creative and can look at problems in new ways when we take time to expand our thinking. Learning can happen in a lot of ways (webinars, professional development training, books, etc.) and from a variety of topics. Even learning about something seemingly unrelated to our day-to-day role can provide relevant and useful ideas. Let me give an example. A few years ago, I began practicing improv comedy. I took it mainly for a creative outlet and to think faster on my feet. Little did I realize that it would make me a better leader in several ways. Recently, in the midst of crisis, I made sure to sign up for an improv class and learned some helpful virtual facilitation and team-building techniques as a result.
Help those around you.
Once we have taken some time to step away and reframe the crisis, we should spend time making sure our people are okay. In uncertain and difficult times, it is vital to reach out, learn what they need, and how we can help. This is particularly important when everyone is working remotely, as it is easy to feel disconnected, alone, and fearful, particularly when jobs are uncertain. Here are some ideas to help:
- Reach out to individuals. A habit I recently discovered (and one I plan to continue) is to reach out to every employee individually by phone and see how they are doing. We meet virtually every week as an entire company and have many meetings throughout, but meeting all together cannot and should not replace talking one-on-one. Does it take a lot time to call everyone individually? Sure. Was it worthwhile? Absolutely. It shows we genuinely care, and I had the pleasure of learning so many wonderful things about people that I did not previously know – from their families to their pets, hobbies, hopes and dreams, you name it. It also reminded me what an awesome team we have.
- Re-focus on the why. We all want to do meaningful work, and this need becomes even more important when we are faced with difficult and uncertain times. As leaders, it is our job to make sure everyone knows what our mission is – essentially our reason for getting up each day. A crisis may significantly alter what we do and how we do it, but if we are all focused and clear on our why, it becomes easier to change, adapt, and persevere.
- Give your people time to unplug. Our teams also need time to relax and recharge. During times of entended uncertainty and/or crisis – that last weeks or even months – it’s imperative to ensure our teams get needed time away from work. This approach of “helping those around you” means proactively encouraging our teams take vacation time and setting them up for success by ensuring they can truly unplug while they’re gone. A 2018 American Psychological Association study found in organizations that encourage time off, employees said they were more motivated, productive, and the quality of their work was better after returning to work. Further, the benefits of taking time off lasted longer in organizational cultures where time off was encouraged.
- Be honest and transparent. Crisis can surprise everyone, and we as leaders may not have good answers to give. However, we can communicate the following:
- Here’s what we know.
- Here’s what we don’t know.
- Here’s what we’re doing.
We may not even know whether people will have jobs after a crisis but saying something and communicating frequently is much better than saying nothing. We may not be able to give great news and that is okay, but by keeping quiet, people will immediately assume the worst. By giving people the information that we do have, we give them the ability to make decisions and move forward.
Look where you want to ride.
In mountain biking, there is a saying that you should look 20 feet in front of you and “look where you want to ride” rather than looking at the (sometimes very scary) terrain that is directly in front of you. If we are busy staring at obstacles right in front of us –those things we want to avoid – we will ride right into them and likely crash. Instead, we should take a longer view in the direction we want to head.
The same is true at work. If we are too busy dealing with and focused on the crisis of the minute, we will lose sight of the bigger picture and long-term opportunities. The crisis will eventually pass, and we want to make sure to set ourselves, our teams, and our organizations up for long-term success. We do this by rising above the crisis and looking beyond it toward the future. Some things that can help in this area include:
- Seek order rather than control. When crisis hits, it can feel like things are spiraling out of control – and most of us want to control the things we feel we can. While seeking control in these moments seems like a natural, sensible reaction, we often end up micro-managing everyone around us, slowing everything down, and doing a disservice to our organization. Instead, we should seek order rather than control. This means making sure everyone is clear on what is expected of them and what they can expect from us. Instead of trying to manage every detail, figure out what can be delegated, communicate overall goals and values, and trust people to do good work. We want to look for ways to steer the ship out of crisis, remove roadblocks, and create an environment where our team can find solutions and make good decisions. It is precisely during these times that people need to be able to control how they work, not have it controlled it for them.
- Help people through the difficult middle. When going through chaotic and uncertain times, it is easy for people to become discouraged. The middle part is tough, and we have to prepare people for that fact. When organizations are changing, reacting to a crisis, and/or forced to try new things, it can feel like we are losing for a very long time before it feels like we are making progress. It is good to remind people of Kanter’s Law: everything looks like a failure in the middle. Things will get better, and our job is to help our people focus on the end goal.