Empathic Leadership in Turbulent Times

I have thought so much about leadership over the past few weeks. We all know the proverbial saying, “It’s easy to lead when times are good.” And indeed, many will say that the true mark of leadership is how we lead people through crisis. 

When the world seems uncertain, people crave a sense of calm and security. They want to know that someone else understands their struggles and gives them permission to be “imperfect.” They desire to have a sense of community and shared strife; that they are united with others feeling similarly. 

For me, one of the most frustrating aspects of this pandemic is that people’s sense of agency – the freedom to act independently and make our own free choices – has been removed or constricted among our various social distancing restrictions. We cannot move through the world, socialize with others or perform most of our "typical" daily tasks. This exacerbates the feeling of helplessness and, in turn, despair.

So, what does empathic leadership look like in this new paradigm?

Give some grace

Everyone’s experience in this pandemic is unique. While some people feel MORE productive without pesky commutes- and have finally found the time to clean out the garage and paint that spare bathroom- others are intensely overwhelmed. 

In recent weeks, I have spoken with single moms trying to divide their time between work and online schooling; grandparents who are now full-time caregivers to their grandchildren, whose parents are health care workers and fear bringing the virus home to their children; people who are looking after aging parents, friends or neighbors; pregnant women terrified of delivering their firstborn in a hospital full of unseen threat. It’s a trying time for many, and we cannot assume that any one person’s experience is like anyone else’s.

It is essential that leaders acknowledge that their employees’ day-to-day experiences are probably very different from their own. My recommendation is to talk openly with your teams about some of the many challenges employees are dealing with. This accomplishes two things: It makes you, the leader, approachable. And it teaches your employees to give each other some grace. Simply acknowledging that many people have an “anything-but-normal” situation helps keep this fact on the surface.

Communicate your priorities… and lighten the load

We are in a world that is moving fast. Our children are climbing the walls, and working spouses are passing babies and pets back and forth; yet through our rituals and calendars, we’re sending the message that the priorities you had three weeks ago are still your priorities today. Said differently, we largely have not eased any business expectations despite the increased personal load and stress our teams face. Most of the things we were doing five weeks ago are still being done every week. After all, we are all still open for business.

As leaders, I think it is imperative that we help lighten the load. Yes, that means you. Regardless of whether people are dividing their day between work and caregiving, this has been an incredible time of need among our business partners and customers. At Cisco, we are working to “clear the decks” for our teams, which translates to canceling or shortening meetings where possible and indefinitely postponing nonessential work. A willingness to listen and adapt work for your teams is imperative. With my direct team, we are starting meetings 10 minutes later than usual and, surprisingly, accomplishing in 20 minutes what used to take 30. Ditto for the new 45-minute long “hour meetings.”

We as leaders need to help our teams reprioritize. Last week’s priorities may not be relevant this week. Working in increasingly difficult situations and potentially fewer hours means that our people need clarity on what the most important tasks are on which to focus. Encourage people (so long as they are adhering to local social distancing guidelines) to stand up or walk outside when content isn’t being shared- walking meetings do amazing things to clear our minds. And as leaders, it’s important to communicate with clarity wherever possible. Use phrases like “here’s what I know, and here is what is unanswered” to bring calm and clarity to your team.

Personal contact matters

It probably goes without saying, but when we cannot get together as teams, leaders need to over-rotate in reaching out to their people. We now take the first few minutes of every Webex meeting to ask how people are doing. We cannot make assumptions about what happened immediately preceding the call for someone. I call, instant message and text employees randomly, just to check in. Like most people at Cisco, I always turn on video when I’m in a team meeting. There are many examples of Webex happy hours, breakfasts, and family dinners happening to maintain and establish connection points.

Taking a cue from Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins, I spent a few hours this weekend handwriting notes to all the leaders in my organization. That amounted to 53 individual cards. I simply thanked these leaders for being a voice of steadiness, empathy and calm in the midst of this crisis. I reminded them that our people need us now more than ever and asked that they stay close to our people. And, I made sure they know that we are all here to support them.

Find moments for levity

Lastly, in the midst of such serious circumstances, leaders need to find moments to smile with their people. I’m not saying to “pretend” we are not in a serious situation that has thrust us all into a new reality. We are unsure of how long we will be operating in this new paradigm. Even when it is safe to congregate together and return to office work environments, we may never feel as close to our colleagues as we did. There will likely emerge a new timestamp in our vernacular: “Before COVID.”

On our team, we have compared photos of drinks on our desks, shared funny GIFs and memes, revealed biggest “oops” moments in work-from-home etiquette, and laughed together. It is so critical to bring some levity to conversations, show your vulnerability by communicating what YOU are struggling with in this new work environment, and create space for all experiences to be deemed “OK.”

This is a time for new and renewed leadership, and I am honored to work for a company that models this from the top down.