Communicating Amid Disruption: 7 Storytelling Guidelines -- COVID-19

We shared this with our clients today. Thought it might be useful to share more broadly as well. We hope it helps you cut through the noise, and guide your teams (and families) through a time of immense disruption.

I know you're already doing so much to be thoughtful, caring, and responsive around COVID-19. 

I know it’s not easy. I just co-led an all-hands with my team yesterday -- and I realized the powerful leadership opportunity we have in this moment.

I was inspired to quickly share 7 actionable tips (ways of the storytelling Jedi!) in times of disruption. And that you may find useful as you continue to talk with your people: 

TL;DR: Start with the positive. Reinforce connection and cohesion. Be humble. Be human. Transparency will go a long way. Find your place of conviction and resolve. Stay calm. Adapt and personalize as needed.

1. Give people reassurance

Start with the positives. Reinforce your faith in the future. What gives you peace of mind? Why do you believe in your team’s resilience? How are you positioned to adapt and contribute to changing context or customer needs? To disruptions in your industry? Plant the seeds for new growth, learning, and possibilities.

2. Empathize with people’s realities

Don’t underestimate the vulnerability people are feeling. This a defining moment of servant leadership -- demonstrate how much you care about your employees and customers. In any way you and the business can absorb. 

3. Communicate, communicate, communicate

John Chambers, former CEO of Cisco, says, “In times of crisis, the task of leadership is to be transparent and visible.” Make yourself accessible. And of course -- listen, listen, listen. Ask questions. And give people space to be heard. 

4. Mitigate fear as much as mitigate risk

In the words of Frank Herbert, “fear is the mind-killer”. Cortisol (fight, flight, or freeze) might be great at igniting threat response, but it also generates panic and irrational choice-making. Cortisol is what separates and divides. Oxytocin (the belonging molecule) is what binds us together. We can lead from a place of peace and resolve. 

5. Educate and inspire -- #flattenthecurve

As a leader, you have the ability to influence your people’s outlook and decision-making. You have smart people on your teams who are likely steeped in the news and reminders already. Still, it doesn’t hurt to encourage your team to make choices that can flatten the curve (e.g. social distancing, washing your hands, sanitizing all surfaces, etc). This isn’t about any one of us, but rather the collective.

6. Language is power

Use words that reinforce resilience, faith, care, preparedness, and safety. Try to avoid repeating words like crisis, emergency, pandemic, disaster, panic, etc -- too many times. Yet these words emotionally trigger people into a cortisol (fight, flight, freeze) state. For example,”COVID-19” has a lower psychic charge than “coronavirus”. Adjusting language can help keep tribes in the right head and heart space.

7. Everyone is a leader

While you may feel like you’re carrying the world on your shoulders, this is a time to create space for everyone around you to lead alongside you. I continue to be amazed by how people on my team and in my life are stepping up in response to the heed/call/invitation. Our response to COVID-19 is an opportunity to democratize and distribute leadership. I’m learning to trust my people and myself and give up control in ways I never have before. 

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At Storied, we like to focus on the positive. The good news is that you have the power to influence dozens, hundreds-- thousands of lives. And the power to change the arc of this unfolding COVID-19 story. You have the ability to deepen trust, morale, and connection. You can also empower others to find their voice and confidence to lead, and get through this together.

This is your leadership moment. This is our leadership moment.

Would love to know how you’re doing.

This article is part of our Leadership During Disruption series. Read the next piece in our series here: Communicate Like a Leader: 5 Elements to a Successful Company or Team-Wide Email