Leadership During the Pandemic: What You Can Do Now

Good leadership is desperately needed during the current crisis!  With an existential threat from COVID-19 to organizations and their people, with survival itself on the line, leaders need to help build trust and a sense of safety.  They can be instrumental in helping their constituents face painful realities and find a sense of purpose during an anxious, uncertain time.  Below are some ideas gleaned from my current experience with organizational leaders and observations from trusted colleagues on how to lead during this crisis.

Self-awareness is at the core of good leadership

Emotional self-awareness is foundational to empathizing with others – if you don’t have a firm grasp on what you are feeling you can’t connect with what people are going through.  Now more than ever leaders need to reflect on how and what they are feeling, the pluses and minuses of how they are behaving, and what their impact is on those around them.  Use a combination of self-reflection and feedback from those you trust to

·      Map your moods and emotions – mood fluctuations; feelings of fear, anger, guilt, grief and sadness.  How have your feeling states changed from pre-crisis baseline? 

·      Assess your physical state – sleep, energy level/fatigue, appetite, weight loss/gain.

·      Look honestly at your behavior – e.g., withdrawal and avoidance, overactivity, impatience, irritability.

Prioritize empathy and understanding

Effective leadership depends on understanding what people are going through right now.  If they feel understood and accepted they will be more energized and more motivated to do their best for the organization.  Empathy requires an understanding of the extraordinariness of the current moment and the stress people are under. Some things to keep in mind –

·      There is a widespread disruption of cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal functioning, sometimes obvious and sometimes not 

    People narrow their focus to deal with threat – the ability to concentrate, to think beyond immediate survival and contemplate the future may be limited.

·      Anxiety and fear, if not directly expressed, are just below the surface for most people.  These feelings can drive behavior and limit productivity in unexpected ways.

·      Virtual interaction can be exhausting – the absence of real, in person interaction is depleting and places real limits on productivity.

·      Working from home has a range of benefits and drawbacks that people contend with differently. Some feel lonely and isolated.  Some value time with their families, but can also find it too much.  Others dislike the fact that “work is always in my face.” 

Find ways to demonstrate your common bond with those you lead

With profound threats to the sense of self and tears in the social fabric, people look to their leaders to reinforce a sense of common humanity.  

·      Be candid and authentic in sharing personal reactions, but don’t “over-share” anxieties and personal concerns

·      Describe your understanding of and tolerance for the range of what people are going through.  Encourage others to do the same.

·      Understand others’ needs for stability and predictability in their lives and in their leaders.

·      Think of your organization as a community and act to foster it. 

·      Show confidence in people’s abilities to cope.

 Affirm the organization’s purpose and your values

Under difficult and threatening conditions, people can be energized and motivated by linking the organization’s work to a broader purpose.  Leaders need to convey that the organization is its people and they need to mean it.  As Jimmy Dunne, the CEO of Sandler O’Neil, said after 9/11 – “Take care of the people and the business will take care of itself.” As a leader you need to –

·      Tell people why they and their work are important. 

·      Demonstrate your own seriousness of purpose and commitment to the enterprise. 

·      Communicate your priorities – safety and well-being first; serving employees, clients, and the community; share the pain

Build Trust

Mistrust was a serious structural defect in our society before the pandemic.  Now the fear and reality of a highly contagious virus exacerbates the fault lines of mistrust, and this is likely to be a problem even after the pandemic recedes.   Trust, always foundational to good leadership, is at a premium now and needs to be carefully cultivated.  As a leader you should –

·      Face, don’t deny, reality; value truthfulness.

·      Fairness and accountability are critical during times that require tough decisions

·      Be careful not to over-promise or give false hope.

·      “Model the way” – be mindful of your own privilege and show a willingness to sacrifice.

Communicate Often and Clearly

Without face to face interaction and the potential for human touch, organizations are running huge deficits of real, three-dimensional human contact.   Now more than ever, leaders must be intentional about their patterns of communication, about the ways they “touch” their people.  Consider –

·      “Touch point” communications with people at all levels of the organization to see how they are faring.

·      More frequent team check-in’s.

·      Regular “all hands” or “town hall” meetings – to communicate important decisions, changes in direction, and plans for the future

·      Making sure you get the right input on important decisions.

·      Above all else, taking time to listen.

In closing –

Effective  leadership requires a firm grasp of the moment, a strong presence, and a vision for moving into the future.  Current threats to human contact and the interpersonal trust that holds organizations together are so extraordinary that the leader’s primary task is to communicate his or her understanding of that threat and its impact.  We are living with so much uncertainty about the course of the pandemic that leaders can only guess at a meaningful vision for the organization’s future.  The time will soon come when envisioning the future and planning for it will take center stage.