Are You Making Any of These 4 Crisis-Leadership Errors?
Sad, wilting desk plants. Film-covered coffee cups. Calendars still turned to March. When I popped into the Buildium offices a few weeks back, the abandoned desks were a sobering reminder that we’ve been at this work-from-home experiment for almost a year now. Yes, the vaccine is slowly rolling out, but there’s still no definitive end in sight.
Covid has brought many challenges to the way we work. But one of the most pernicious is the state of limbo that employees have been left in. Forecasts about office returns remain uncertain, as governments and businesses juggle ever-changing recommendations and rules. And this is just one way we’re living “in-between” right now — we’re also in the midst of political and social turmoil and an economic roller coaster. In or out of work, it’s no wonder most of us are feeling a little unmoored.
With everyone drifting in a sea of “what ifs,” it’s important for leaders to bring stability to work in whatever ways we can. All too often, however, we focus on surface-level optimism instead of actions with true impact. The familiar rallying cries about flexibility, rounding-a-corner and keeping your chin up sound good, but can fall flat in practice.
Over the past year, I’ve seen from trial-and-error what works and, just as importantly, what doesn’t. For other leaders out there, here are some tactics that may be worth letting go of.
Over-indexing on “nimbleness”
Conventional wisdom says companies need to be nimble during a crisis. True — and agility is one of our company values — but this has limits.
As businesses, sometimes we do need to turn on a dime. 2020 has pushed us to make quick decisions over and over. But there’s a tipping point where “nimbleness” becomes “chaos.” Uncertainty in the workplace causes stress, depression, and anxiety. So if there are any opportunities to provide certainty right now, no matter how small, we’re taking them.
For instance, we just let our Boston team know that we won’t be considering a return-to-the-office plan until the end of Q1 at the earliest, and that there will likely be some remote component to work going forward. Google has done something similar, committing to remote work until July 2021 at least; Facebook, meanwhile, has announced they’ll be allowing employees to decide to work remotely permanently.
Other companies have launched virtual camps and after-school programs for employees’ kids, outlined paid-leave options for team members who need time away, and set up employee emergency savings accounts. With vaccine rollout plans still rocky, there’s no way to know when we’ll all be able to get back in a room together. In the meantime, it’s important to offer what guide rails we can, and not leave employees in limbo.
Having all the answers
Amid the chaos of the crisis, it’s tempting for leaders to cut through conflicting information and provide pat answers and quick decisions. Particularly during periods of volatility, a command-and-control model can seem appealing — providing reassurance to employees and concrete direction for the business.
But here’s the thing. Don’t even pretend to have all the answers right now. Because you don’t.
Especially in a context where there are no historical precedents to fall back on, it’s critical to reach out to employees, suppliers, investors, customers and mentors to collect input, rather than charging ahead. Gathering feedback and generating consensus are the only ways I know to guide a team. And this approach has come in handy this year.
As the leadership team works to craft a reentry plan, for instance, we’ve quickly realized that business needs have to be balanced with human needs. So instead of dictating what’s required, we’re asking. When would employees feel comfortable returning? Under what circumstances? What factors and schedule issues are in play? One team member has teenagers who are fairly good at keeping themselves on task during the day; another has a nanny to help out; yet another co-worker has to push work into the evening so they can focus on childcare during the day. A one-size-fits-all solution — decreed from on high — just isn’t going to cut it.
When you understand your team’s full range of views and see through the prism of their expectations, you’ll be better equipped to provide support that matters … whether that’s getting people back to a socially distanced office ASAP, or supporting them in the remote context. And beyond helping you clarify your next move, employees who feel heard are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered and successful.
Ditching rituals
Lots of holiday parties were preempted this year by Covid. And it’s easy to see why companies would dispense with the ritual, considering we couldn’t actually get together and the overall mood at the end of 2020 wasn’t exactly be celebratory.
But that may have been a mistake — especially when so many other fixtures of office life have gone by the wayside.
Both routine and anticipation are hugely beneficial to mental health, and ritualistic social routines like staff get-togethers check both of those boxes. Not to mention that social eventsboost engagement, and engaged employees are more productive, more satisfied, and more likely to stick around. Company culture is a vital component to happiness at work… even if you’re not physically at an office.
So, yes, it’s important to preserve those regular events. It’s obviously too late for the holiday party, but your annual, start-of-the-year company kickoff? Keep it in the books. Even if it’s just sending out swag and toasting each other from our separate homes via Zoom, it’s essential to laugh, have fun and savor a moment of real joy and camaraderie every so often. The prevailing mood may be serious, but we need to appreciate those flashes of happiness when they come our way, not suppress them.
Case in point: We’ve been holding after-hours Zoom tutorials, led by our own employees (including a former cheesemonger and a talented chef) that have nothing to do with work — and everything to do with kicking back with colleagues over a glass of wine. While it’s true we can’t count on what’s going to happen next, we can at least count on those little moments of connection and care with each other.
Trying to be the rock
Leaders — at least, in the old-school formulation — are supposed to be unflappable and infallible: a source of constancy in times of confusion. Right now, however, pretending you know what you’re doing, or are immune to the confusion and stress, isn’t believable orhelpful.
The only thing we know for sure is that this is stressful, and we’re all going to have good days and bad days. As a leader, your job — far from being a rock — is to model this principle in action.
In our last quarterly meeting, I acknowledged that every single one of us, me included, was running on empty some days. With 270-plus faces looking back at me over Zoom, I told the team that my only expectation is that we all be human, not superhuman. Knowing how much they’ve brought to the table in this crisis, I really can’t describe the wave of gratitude I felt looking at them all. Honestly, I got a little choked up. And if a tear or two had fallen, I know everyone would have been fine with that too.
When it’s real, vulnerability builds trust between leaders and their teams. And trust creates strong, productive companies: employees at high-trust businesses are 76 percent more engaged, 74 percent less stressed, and 106 percent more energetic. Modelling this as a leader, especially during times of unrest, is critical.
Despite the fact that business is booming for astrologers and psychics right now, we can’t predict what’s going to happen next. But what we can take control of as leaders is our compassion and our humanity. Casting aside leadership stereotypes and preconceptions, and getting real and human with team members, may be the most powerful leadership tack of all — in times of strife and stability alike.
This article was originally featured in Fast Company. Stay up to date with my latest by clicking the “Follow” button above or follow me on Twitter.
