5 Questions Every Leader Should Be Thinking About During This Crisis

As we all grapple with working in an environment that none of us have ever experienced before, leaders of all stripes have to figure out how to do their best work, where to focus their team, and how to balance the needs of their employees with the needs of the business. 

While every organization has its own unique needs, I thought I’d share the 5 questions I’ve asked every senior leader at MongoDB to think about to help them guide their teams and their part of the business through this global crisis. I decided to post an abbreviated version of my internal note as a number of people suggested that I should share this more broadly.

1. Are my people ok?

Each employee has their own unique circumstances. While some people may be doing fine, others may be having a difficult time. Make sure you know who the most vulnerable people are in your organization. They may be people who just contracted the virus or have existing health conditions. They may be people caring for family members with health or financial issues. They may be single parents who now have to juggle work and kids at home. Our job as leaders is to show up for our team and help assuage their anxiety & stress. Please take the time to check in on your colleagues, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable members of the group, and make sure you are there to help.

2. Am I clear on how my team needs to adapt?

Life has fundamentally changed, and our Company has to adapt. Do you know how you and your team need to adapt to have the biggest impact? What changes need to be made with regard to how your team plans and does their work? Are you clear on how to best engage our customers, partners, and colleagues in a way that’s meaningful for them? What new opportunities have emerged to re-imagine how we do our work to be more creative and efficient? All of us are smarter than any one of us, so leverage your team to get and implement the best ideas.

3. Do I have control over my part of the business?

There are potentially severe implications of COVID-19 on the part of the business that you are responsible for. The best leaders are proactive in anticipating what the impact will be, where it will show up, and planning for it. So what are they? Have I reviewed my hiring plans and every planned expenditure to make sure it’s still relevant? What new needs have emerged? Can the organization be better off if I give some of my budget to other teams who may have more pressing needs? In a revenue-related role, how can I make sure that I’ve qualified my forecast as rigorously as possible to minimize bad surprises at the end of the quarter, and how effective is my team in building a quality pipeline for the future?

4. Is my team super clear on what their priorities are?

Nothing can impact productivity more negatively than a lack of clarity on what’s important, and what’s not. Otherwise, your team will not know what to focus on and they may keep busy doing things that have limited value, conflating activity for impact. Every person on your team should know their top 3 priorities. A good test is to ask your team if their calendar reflects their priorities. If not, they should stop doing things that are not important and focus their time on the things that are.

5. Am I doing enough to recognize the good work of my team?

A lot of people are working hard from home and wondering if what they do really matters. Nothing can be more motivating than genuine praise and recognition. If someone on your team has accomplished something meaningful, make sure they hear praise from you, and don’t be shy about asking others, including other leaders, to recognize their good work.