Empowering your team in the time of crisis

I started PaxeraHealth in 2009 amid a financial crisis. It wiped out many jobs and destroyed the economy. I was scared to death since I started the company in the USA as an immigrant from Egypt not yet knowing how to run a business in America. In Jan 2011, the Arab spring started in Egypt. There were riots and gun shots in the street everywhere, internet was out, there were no banks or ATM's. At that time, I was in Dubai for the Arab health conference and got stuck for 15 days. I was unable to return to Egypt to see my family and check on our team in Cairo as the airport was closed. Life stopped, but I kept going. We made every effort to make sure that salaries went out no matter the situation. We had a team that volunteered to deliver salaries in cash to all employees at their homes!

Few days ago, I felt real fear about the situation amidst the Corona virus crisis. I thought I had seen the worse already. I still couldn’t process that I was in lock down with all 6 of our worldwide offices almost closed. I felt unsettled and uncertain unlike anything I’ve ever felt.  In an effort to calm myself, I put on my Paxera T-shit and went for a run, drowning out the sound of my worries with music. I took a picture of myself with the Paxera logo and shared it with the Paxerians using our social media channel under the hashtag #PaxeraStrong. Within minutes, I got tens of pictures from around the world from those strong Paxerians all wearing their own Paxera gear. One of the pictures was for one of our Paxerians from the plane flying him home as our last person to send him home safely before the complete lock down. Each picture served as a reminder of what I work for every day to support each and every family that one picture is representing. Not only that, they reminded me of the strong team and the great culture that we have build throughout out the years. I could feel the passion radiating from every Paxerian as they showed their commitment to the company in this difficult time. The same team that helped me raise this company from the ground and won’t let it fall in these tough times.

Empower your employees and be strong, fight back. They are your army and you are the captain.