Leadership In Crisis

“Losing your head in a crisis is a good way to become the crisis.” C.J. Redwine

In every Crisis, as a leader, you need to ensure you are grounded. To be able to help others, you need to manage your emotional turmoil first. How do you achieve that?

Learn to understand what makes you tick and what groves you down. Take a nap if you need one, go for a run, or do some therapy screams. If you can, get some encouraging words from a trusted friend.

People naturally cling for leadership, especially during a crisis. If they do not find it from you, they will look for it somewhere else. Inaction will work against you!

To be effective as you lead people during a crisis, you need to ensure that you are emotionally, physically, and mentally able to carry those following behind.

Managing people during a crisis:

When there is a crisis, it looks like everything is falling apart and it is chaotic. You may wonder if you should even be focusing on your employees at such a time! I hear you, really!

But think of it this way, focusing on your team will build a thriving spirit in your people, and you won’t have to cover all the leaking holes by yourself. For your team to give the best they can give, they need to see that they are a priority.

Below are 4 simple things you can begin immediately…

1. Prioritize your team’s safety first. As you communicate your decision, clarify the WHY. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the basic human need is Safety. During a crisis, the mind naturally shifts to survival mode. If your team will be able to sense that their safety is a priority to you it will allow them to commit to the future of the organization/ company with all their hearts. As you are giving your best to ensure the safety of the team, make open the decisions you make, and clarify the reasons as to why those decisions are important for their safety.

2. Don’t pretend there is no fire when everyone can smell the smoke. Be very open with your team. Your team is certainly not stupid! pretending it’s business, as usual, will definitely work against you. Tell your team how badly business has been affected, share with them the key details they need to know so that they understand the weight they too need to carry to support the company during the crisis. When you are more open to them about the situation, it will give them ownership of every problem resulted from the crisis.

3. Address their concerns and encourage them to come to you. In such a time, you need to be visible and available to your people. Create an atmosphere where you are easily approachable, easy to talk to. allow room for your people to come to you and vent out. Encourage your fellow leaders to do the same to their subordinates. A listening ear is a remedy in multiple ways. Whenever they raise concerns, work mercilessly to clear those concerns, provide the environment where they know they are heard and cared for.

4. Candid and Frequent communication. Crisis or no crisis, a large number of organizational problems occur as a result of poor communications. As a leader, you can't afford to under-communicate, this will probably be the factor that destroys your team especially in a crisis. Work to communicate. There is no problem if you overcommunicate. Get personal as you communicate: If you develop meaningful relationships with people you will never know what is really on their mind until it is too late. Also, clarify tasks and expectations and clear timelines for your people.

Managing processes during a crisis

If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.- Edwards Deming

Crisis or no crisis, according to Deming, you are supposed to define what you do in a clear process. To be effective especially during a crisis, ensure that your processes are under the scope of the balance of four things

• Leadership drives the interpersonal aspects of the organization, such as moral and team spirit.
• Management deals with the conceptual issues of the organization, such as planning, budgeting, and organizing.
• Command guides the organization with well-thought-out visions that make it effective.
• Control provides structure to the organization in order to make it more efficient.

Leadership is a powerful pillar. Empower your people, build the team spirit, learn what makes them tick. It brings in the interpersonal aspect which is key to keep your people motivated and engaged. Management involves budgeting, planning for the purpose of ensuring that resources are allocated wisely regardless of the process, bringing in the conceptual part of the process. Control; Ensures there is structure and order. This is a result of control. Control breeds efficiency. Command; This pillar is built by communicating the vision to the best people who can implement it hence building effectiveness.

Tap here to learn more about the balance of Leadership, management, control, and command in every process.

Visit here to learn everything you need to know about Navigating any crisis.

PS: Remember that your attitude sets the tone for the rest of your organization.

Signed, Jocelyne Msigwa.