Ask Marcia - Leadership Q&A - Week of April 15
/Week of April 15, 2020 / From her column in the Silicon Valley Business Journal
Q. Everyday is a challenge as we navigate through the challenges of this pandemic. How do leaders guide us through this?
A. In recent weeks, we have seen leaders emerging across the world. They are stepping up individually, in organizations, and in nations. They are reaching across communities, industries, and countries to collaborate, partner, and find solutions. Leaders see the challenges and what needs to be done to beat the obstacles. Leaders will pivot and transform!
Here are key Pivot Points that leaders use:
BE AWARE. Leaders anticipate some crises. When it hits, they quickly assess and grasp the situation. They strategically see its probable impact and step up to address it. They sense and respond.
The Question for You: What are you aware of and how will it impact you?
BELIEVE. Leaders believe that by working together a crisis can be addressed. They have no doubt that they will make progress to serve customers and often brand new customers. They don’t waste time. High speed is their modus operandi. IF WE BELIEVE IT, WE CAN ACHIEVE IT.
The Questions for You: Do you believe that you can succeed and serve fast enough? Do you believe you can deliver an amazing customer experience of value?
CREATE. Creative people are full of ideas in a crisis. Their creativity is contagious as they engage other people to explore and discover new, different, possible solutions. Being creative is going to be one of the most significant paths through this maze as people try many different and new ways to solve problems they are facing.
The Questions for You: Are you constantly discussing and exploring new ideas and choosing which ones you will implement? Are you learning and acting fast enough?
CAN DO. Innovators make their ideas happen. They influence, leverage, and connect with others to achieve their goal.
The Questions for You: Do you rapidly make your Plan (it might take 10 minutes or 2 hours to discuss and agree on a Plan of Action (do not take a week or month to make an Action Plan to address a crisis!) and act on it? What works; what doesn’t? Revise your Plan; do it again. Faster!
Q. What should leaders do through a crisis?
A. As the airlines tell us during their safety message, “Put on your oxygen mask first, then help your children.” Leaders especially need to take care of themselves during this time. Whether you are the parent, the hospital administrator or Head of the Intensive Care Unit, or a corporate executive or a team leader, you have to think clearly and feel with empathy. Leaders need to be calm. If leaders are calm and resilient, their followers can be. If leaders are emotional and out of control, that can send the people into a tailspin. It’s true for parents, too. Children watch for cues. If they see a parent freaked out, they may be very stressed and act out. If the parents are resilient, the children can be, too. They’ll learn healthy coping mechanisms and to go with the flow.
Leaders need to take care of themselves and identify and manage their stress (and there may be good and bad days that you manage through.) Sleep, exercise, healthy eating, vitamins, and some quiet time are all essential. There are also a few things that are crucial for leaders. Through a crisis, leaders must escalate the frequency that they communicate and the messages with people. Your staff or team craves clarity and direction. They want you to tell them what to do more than before. They need to feel reassured that things will get better. When there is bad news to share, people can hear it from someone they trust.
Q. I realize it’s important to connect with my colleagues and staff who are working at home. What should we discuss?
A. Quick check-ins are important, daily or weekly, depending on the needs and maturity of the team. Ask how people are doing and what challenges they face that others might be able to help with. Ask them how working at home is impacting their productivity. Ask them how an how often they want to communicate. As the weeks go by, are they getting more comfortable or feeling more anxious and isolated? Some people thrive and some struggle; there’s variation.
Most relevant to your team care and cultural sustainability through these tumultuous times, is to take the time to share stories, funny things that are happening, successes, and failures. Humor and laughter are key to relieve stress and help remote team members bond and connect. You might have Show-and-Tell or take time for ice-breakers or end of day Happy Hour. Be creative. Ask for ideas.
Create a short agenda for your meetings (and I emphasize Short.) The agenda can include customer problems that need to be solved, issues that need to be addressed, and progress on projects. These are all common. Try to things and see what works and what doesn’t work. There’s no recipe book for the coronavirus. We’re creating the Playbook as we go. Give yourself and your team flexibility.
Send your questions to Marcia Daszko at md@mdaszko.com.
Call her to discuss your challenges and during this COVID19 crisis. She has been a trusted advisor to executive teams for 25+ years and is the author of the book “Pivot Disrupt Transform” and co-author of “Turning Ideas Into Impact: Insights from 16 Silicon Valley Consultants.” Invite her to speak (virtually now) and see her resources for you at www.mdaszko.com
