If you have to lead in times of uncertainty and distress, you will be forced to think and behave in ways that feel uncomfortable.
Any crisis always demands that leaders take on an alternative response plan and adapt to it, as new and fluid factors present themselves.
In an organisational crisis, there will be immediate chaos and disruption. As it unfolds, some organisations will remain resilient, and for others, the future will be catastrophic. The actions of leaders and their teams now, in the midst of the crisis, will significantly determine what lies ahead.
Leading in normal times involves you inspiring your team to the best possible outcome over a certain period of time. Your focus will be on what is likely to come next, and getting prepared to meet it. In stark contrast, in a crisis, you need to make immediate choices, and allocate resources. The pace is fast, and your actions must be decisive.
For any aspiring leader, going through a crisis is like a "rite of passage". Remember, it is easy to be a good manager or boss when everything is going well, but your ability as a leader is truly tested when there is a real crisis.
The unpredictability of a crisis is the hardest part of managing it. For example, if in 2019, someone had told us that the Covid-19 pandemic would hit the entire planet, and that we would be in a two-year lockdown, with a complete shift to a remote world, you and I would have dismissed it as nonsense.
Here are a few things that I have learnt about leading through a crisis in my almost three decades of owning and managing businesses.
Acknowledge the problem
Leaders sometimes refuse to acknowledge that they are in a crisis. They fail to inform their people of the situation's reality, make poor judgments, and as a result, become ineffective. If your usual strategy is to sweep the problem under the carpet, do not do this again. Nobody likes to be kept in the dark.
Treat your employees with respect and communicate the reality of the situation in a transparent way. Encourage your team to look at the bigger picture instead of what will happen in the short term. Sit down with your team and talk about the next steps, the risks associated with the action plan, and what can be done right away to mitigate the problems.
Seek credible information. As a leader, it is your responsibility to determine the most reliable, up-to-date information from trustworthy sources. When leading through a crisis, consult experts for the latest advice.
Communicate effectively
Once essential information is gathered, it should be disseminated to the entire organisation by every means possible. Transparency is key when leading in a crisis. Information is powerful for your team because it reduces emotional distress caused by the unknown, diminishes fear, and provides tactical guidance.
Most of all it demonstrates to your employees that you are concerned, involved, knowledgeable, and on top of the situation. Key information should be constantly reviewed, repeated, and reinforced. Repeating and reinforcing information on a daily basis, and through multiple delivery modalities, helps it to sink in, and be retained by your team.
Drop the red tape
In crisis, there is no time for extensive deliberations. Your top priority during a crisis should be to limit the number of "pain" points. A pain point is anything that is a hurdle to making quick decisions. This includes unnecessary hierarchy in the approval processes, to a lack of emergency finances.
Expedite decision-making. As a leader, you do not have the luxury of second-guessing, so when it comes to managing a crisis effectively, it all comes down to establishing a "no-nonsense" priority list, giving complete autonomy to your decision makers, and get all the low-impact decisions out first.
Increased visibility
During a crisis, leaders must be accessible. You must make it known that you are available so your team know how they can best reach you with status updates and questions. Particularly during a crisis, employees have a need to hear from their leaders frequently. When leaders appear calm, concerned, knowledgeable, and in charge, employees feel encouraged, and are more likely to have confidence that things are under control and will be fine.
Manage emotions
Recognising and managing the emotions of the situation, both your own and others' will help with individual and team resilience. People with an imbalanced emotional state do not process information or strategy well. It is important that you reduce the emotional stress on people while "doing the job."
The most important things to remember is that all crises do pass. When a crisis occurs, do not ignore, or avoid it. Instead, tackle it head on, and use it as a stepping stone to change.
*The writer is managing consultant and executive leadership coach at EQTD Consulting. He is also the author ot the national bestseller 'So, You Want To Get Promoted?'