Our world, nation, communities, and organizations are experiencing major disruption that impacts not only our economy, but the vitality of our society. COVID-19 has spurred a global crisis, one result of which has been to punctuate the fact that we are all connected. This reality calls for a united voice of leadership that allows us to address this pandemic in real time, while also helping to sustain our wellbeing, economy, and safety in the future.
Since the crisis began last month, I have been spending a lot of my time engaging with executives and their teams on what they are learning as they guide their employees and companies through this pandemic, how it has impacted their leadership, what they envision for the future, and what needs to happen now to prepare for that future. One piece of this involves understanding how to make a sustained impact on their businesses’ viability and reputation.
As part of these discussions, I have engaged with a number of CEOs across diverse industries on what they are learning and how they are leading their organizations through today’s challenges—and at the same time, planning for the future. In listening to these great leaders and CEOs, the number-one theme that has echoed throughout the conversations is that leadership matters.
In my next few posts, I’ll relay some key points from my interviews that illustrate what top CEOs and executives view as imperative for leading their organizations through the current crisis and beyond—steps that I believe are not only making a positive difference, but are helping to blaze a new path for what defines a great leader now and going forward.
“you don’t waste a crisis without learning something.”
I had the privilege of participating in an interview with a top leader in the insurance industry who was charged by her company with being “the field general of COVID-19.” She emphasized that because there’s so much to absorb in such an unprecedented situation, it’s important to ensure that “you don’t waste a crisis without learning something.”
Specifically, she pointed to the importance of having a business continuity/crisis management team that pulls together to help the company manage crisis situations.
This calls for a regular cadence of meetings with a diverse spectrum of leadership to engage in critical thinking and decision making. It’s important that organizations don’t make decisions in a vacuum, and that they tap into fresh ideas while staying open to new ideas and practices. The most important part of decision-making during a crisis is to keep calm and act methodically, which means having a crisis plan or general protocol for assessing crisis situations and making informed decisions. Remember, if our leaders show up or appear in panic mode, then that becomes contagious and our employees will feel the same.
The communications team is critical for leading in crisis, and as shared by several CEOs, it’s important to hone in on. The insurance industry CEO pointed out: “From a communication standpoint, a big part is to make sure we were plugged into the right places to make the right decisions that we needed to make. This calls for having key partners and reliable sources to gain the right information to make the right decision.”
The reality is that we all can get overwhelmed with information. An important skill and discipline for leaders is to learn how to separate what’s essential from what’s not essential – and what’s urgent versus not urgent.
A common theme across all the CEOs I spoke with for this particular interview is to ensure you take care of your employees. As the insurance industry CEO said, “If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the business. This means not just in times of crisis but on a regular basis.” The CEO elaborated and said, “Treat your people with respect and care, and ensure that people are heard,” she said. “We don’t always agree with everything that everyone says, but we make sure people are heard.” She added that empathy is key. “Women bring that natural attribute, which is essential for taking care of our employee base—that is what will sustain us.”
She also shared that since you have a very hard road as a leader, you must remember that leadership is a team sport, and she quoted John Maxwell who said, “He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk.” Great leaders walk the talk—they tell you the facts versus sharing uninformed optimism. They emulate their vision for the future, provide clarity, and reinforce the company’s core mission and values through storytelling via multiple communication channels.
I asked this leader, since she has a team representative of women’s leadership, if she believes that there is a difference between how women lead and how men lead—and if so, what are those differences?
She emphasized that she learned from her mother about the importance for leaders of multitasking, since leaders have to do so much at the same time, and that she believes that women are particularly good at this skillset. This also means having a peripheral vision and knowing what’s ahead and ensuring your actions support not only the current state but the future and inevitable change that will occur post crisis.
Finally, I asked her how she thinks this pandemic will play out—and specifically, what she believes is the recipe for women to move successfully forward in corporations. She responded:
“From a woman’s perspective, women in leadership tend to be very strong, passionate, very empathetic. In a crisis, it serves us well. I’m quick to say women lead from the heart; men lead from the head. I think you need both. When you lead from heart, people are readily listening to you. We have people who are caring for their parents or have young children,” she said. “At the end of the day, the lesson we learn should be, don’t be afraid to lead from the heart, and you can still be strong and passionate.”
I would add based on my experience at SHAMBAUGH coaching a wide range of leadership teams that in light of different skillsets that each individual brings to the table, it’s important to create gender-balanced teams, remembering that diverse teams have also been proven to perform better. To continue to grow your leadership and bring value during these uncertain times attend SHAMBAUGH’s virtual coaching and development program for women leaders.
In closing, how you show up as a leader really matters to those who you serve and influence. Know you are visible and people are watching you set the path for forging new and innovative ideas, operating norms, and practices that unite all of us as a part of something bigger than ourselves—especially in times of crisis. In my next post, I’ll share insights from other CEOs for leading in crisis and planning for the future.
Join me on MAY 6 at 11AM ET for our virtual leadership series as I interview the VP of Customer and Partner Services for Cisco on Leadership Matters: Leading in Uncertain and Opportunistic Times
Contact me at info@shambaughleadership.comor visit our website at www.shambaughleadership.comto learn about SHAMBAUGH’s keynotes, executive and leadership development programs and offerings for building an inclusive cultures.
Rebecca Shambaugh is President of SHAMBAUGH Leadership, Founder ofWomen in Leadership and Learning. Rebecca is a contributing writer to Harvard Business Review, the HuffPost, and a TEDx speaker. Rebecca has been featured on CNBC, Forbes, Training Magazine, and US News and World Report.
Find out more about us at: www.shambaughleadership.com