NAVIGATING CRISIS WITH "ESSENTIALS"

If anyone ever wanted to know what crisis [read global crisis] looks like – you are now living in one. Having said that, the real magic is that the way out of it lies in basics – the Essentials.

We make tough or rather unpleasant choices during crises. The COVID-19 crisis forced workplaces into situations that would have seemed unimaginable just weeks ago.

ESSENTIALS?

People need to feel understood, valued, involved, and supported. What I call Essentials are a set of practices and behaviours that address those needs. These essentials have always been important, but now they are – essential!

These five essentials serve leaders as they mobilize people and resources during the current pandemic. They include:

1. Maintain and enhance self-esteem.
2. Listen and respond with empathy.
3. Ask for help and enable involvement.
4. Share thoughts, feelings, and rationale to build trust.
5. Provide support without removing responsibility.

We must look at each one to understand their importance and how each may be applied during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.

1. MAINTAIN AND ENHANCE SELF-ESTEEM

People who feel valued are more willing to share responsibility, confront challenges, and adapt to change. Maintaining and enhancing self-esteem is about acknowledging good ideas, recognizing small achievements, expressing confidence, and being specific and sincere.

Quick Actions:

• Simply thank a team member for figuring out a creative way to workaround, despite these constraints.
• Show gratitude by saying, “I really appreciate you for showing up on time for meeting, especially with the kids at home”.

2. LISTEN AND RESPOND WITH EMPATHY

When you listen, understandand acknowledge, it supports open, two-way communication. It establishes mutual respect and trust. Listening and responding with empathy includes responding to facts and feelings, defusing negative emotions, and acknowledging positive emotions. Leaders use empathy for both positive and negative situations.

Quick Actions:

• Say, “I know these constant adjustments to your work are making it difficult for you to do your work and leaves you frustrated at times.”
• Say, “You seem like you’ve adjusted well to this sudden work-at-home situation. I guess we all can learn from you!”

3. ASK FOR HELP AND ENABLE INVOLVEMENT

Most people appreciate providing input on decisions impacting them and their work. Often, better ideas emerge by involving others. People commit more to things they’ve helped build. It happens by asking for ideas, opinions, points-of-view, and encouraging others to contribute. As leaders, don’t be the first one to offer ideas.

Quick Actions:

• Ask, “What are your thoughts on how we can communicate better since we are temporarily working from home?”
• Say, “I have a couple of thoughts about how we might address the challenge of wearing masks while we work, but I’d like to hear your ideas first.”

4. SHARE THOUGHTS, FEELINGS AND RATIONALE TO BUILD TRUST

Share your thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Trust is important and can be built by appropriately sharing your thoughts, feelings, and rationale. It’s as simple as treating people like adults.

Quick Actions:

• Say, “I think this new process change we’ve implemented to physically distance ourselves from each other will resolve the issue we discussed yesterday because...”
• Say, “We need to stagger our break times to avoid being in groups at least for the next two weeks. The medical authorities say that will help keep us safe.”

5. PROVIDE SUPPORT WITHOUT REMOVING RESPONSIBILITY

Building ownership helps maintain confidence and responsibility. It occurs when a leader avoids taking over on a task or assignment, even if in a helpful spirit. Providing support ensures a leader is focusing on leading and getting results through others and not exclusively doing the work itself.

This can be done by helping others to think and perform, or offering support to others so they can be successful and learn from challenging situations.

Quick Actions:

• Say, “I know you haven’t hosted a virtual training session before and you want it to go well. Why don’t we do a brief rehearsal prior to the session? I can share any feedback and tips.”
• Ask, “How can I help you get comfortable and confident so you can get the reports in on time?”

“ESSENTIALS” ARE ESSENTIAL IN CRISIS

These “Essentials”can be used in many different situations. They are powerful and easy to use and, for most leaders, it’s just a matter of being purposeful, especially when there is great uncertainty and chaos in our work lives.

Some leaders who have strong action orientations might not have soft skills and “Essentials” at the top of their mind. But leaders’ decisions and actions need to be carried out or executed by others. Most people agree that gaining commitment is far better than simply gaining compliance. These “Essentials”help leaders gain commitment, which ultimately leads to better execution, agility and adaptability.

My hope is that these “Essentials”will serve leaders well, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also work in our day-to-day lives, with friends and family, so start using them today!

Stay blessed. Stay Awesome!

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