How to Provide Great Leadership in Times of Crisis
The men and women in charge of our organizations are now faced with uncharted challenges: leading their organization through a global pandemic. In this time of crisis, most leaders are doing their best to step up and inspire people to do their best. And they are doing a great job.
One of the challenges is the evolving new normal. Rapidly changing guidelines, mandates and infrastructure require continual monitoring and adjustments. Leaders are in a constant state of discovery, decision making, designing and implementation. This requires resilience, collaboration and great communication.
Those who are able to adapt quickly and wisely are best positioned to lead their organization in novel ways. Great leadership in times of crisis will see us through to the other side.
Scenario planning is more important than ever. Based on the conversations I have had with leaders, developing, refining and implementing response plans is well underway. With careful attention to employee safety and preparedness, leaders can minimize risk, and in some cases, position themselves for post-crisis growth. Below are a few leadership best practices. Are you taking these steps?
First, and foremost, focus on employee safety. Review policies, and then identify actual practices. What happens in the field may not be the actual procedures management recommends. Ensure you have adequate communicable illness plans and practices in place.
Ensure you have a Plan “B.” If you haven’t mapped out or developed contingency plans, you are taking the risk of limiting your agility and ability to respond and “bounce back” from unforeseen events. This could include simple situations such as a fire (remember fire drills in school?), or the more complex situations like a pandemic.
Identify a crisis management team with the authority and autonomy to work through bottlenecks. Identify cross-functional alternates in different scenarios to stabilize the supply chain, monitor and test financials, protect the workforce, engage customers and coordinate communication.
Empower and equip remote/virtual work. Explore and identify resources and requirements for remote work. Ask every team leader and manager to identify tasks that can be completed remotely, who is capable of completing the tasks and what technology upgrades will support it.
Companies of all kinds can teach us a great deal about leadership in a time of crisis. Smart policies, the anticipation and mitigation of operational roadblocks, and most importantly, the care of our employees and clients will help us through.
What do you think? How are you doing? How can we help? Let us know. We would love to hear your thoughts.You can reach us here and on LinkedIn.