In my last post, I shared insights that I gained through interviewing top CEOs and executives on what they are learning as they guide their employees and companies through the global pandemic of COVID-19. These leaders shared with me how the current crisis has impacted their leadership, what they envision for the future, and what needs to happen now to prepare for that future.
Since that event, I am continuing to engage with CEOs and senior executives on how they are navigating their organization through the curve of the current crisis. This requires a new playbook that helps leaders address and manage unprecedented disruption for not just one massive crisis but two: the global pandemic brought on by the coronavirus, and racial injustice that recent events with George Floyd’s death have again brought front and center.
The situation creates a rare opportunity to observe leaders in every industry who are cracking traditional mindsets, cultures, and ways of operating a company—and who are redefining what great leadership means every day.
Below are a few thoughts that I wanted to share with you to help guide this process, and some specific strategies around decision-making in the current crisis. I hope you will take these ideas to heart and put them into practice in your leadership approach, both on an organizational and personal leadership level.
What Makes This Crisis Different Than Others?
One way that the current pair of crises differs from the 2008 financial crisis comes down to key distinction: people versus profits. In the case of a global health crisis caused by COVID-19, we have something that by nature presents a more human challenge than one based solely on the bottom line. The same can clearly be said of the Black Lives Matter movement, which requires focusing attention squarely on human issues of safety, equality, dignity, and respect.
Operationally, when we think about the coronavirus—versus simply managing liquidity and the balance sheet as was the case in 2008—while companies today are still factoring the bottom line into their decision making, leaders are doing this in conjunction with thinking through the impact on employees, particularly when it comes to maintaining their safety and security.
Significant disruption at a business level from both prongs of the current crises is causing companies to make dramatic changes, creating new work structures and ways of working across the board. Many of these changes are digital in nature and are rapidly becoming a permanent reality in how and where work gets done.
The new reality significantly impacts leadership. One CEO whom I spoke with noted that leading during the pandemic has resulted in his decision to ratchet up his listening and communication skills several notches to communicate more effectively. In particular, with so many employees working remotely, he emphasized the importance of being an active listener, asking questions, and engaging people.
Decision-Making Pivot: Pause to Move Faster
Pre-COVID, pausing to reflect was counterintuitive to how leaders would normally approach decision-making, and it was expected that leaders needed to make quick decisions while engaged in action. Yet in the current climate, it’s critical that leaders create the space to think clearly, increase their self-awareness, hone their emotional intelligence, and understand areas where their personal bias may color their decision-making ability and results. More than ever, today’s leaders must avoid making quick, uninformed decisions simply to provide a faster answer.
Some ways to achieve this include:
- Don’t make decisions in a vacuum. Many of yesterday’s leaders fell back on an outdated traditional leadership model of top-down directives. But with the multiple new and complex issues companies are now facing, this isn’t a smart decision-making model. By instead starting from the position that leaders don’t necessarily know more than their teams—and validating that everyone can offer up good ideas—leaders can widen the aperture to tap into the perspectives of a diverse range of people and organizations. This is what’s needed to help unlock creative and innovate approaches that will see companies through the current crises that face them.
- Listen with intention. On a related note, it’s important for leaders to adopt a practice of listening to people on their teams, with a philosophy of “Don’t assume; instead assess.” By engaging in asking others powerful questions to play out complex situations, leaders can facilitate the emergence of creative yet real-time critical thinking.
- Do away with long-range decision-making. While planning for the distant future is part of business as usual, it can delay “right action” in a crisis. Effective CEOs with whom I have spoken in recent days are comfortable letting their team understand the difference between a destination and a journey when it comes to crisis-time decision-making. Remind people that the company will make course corrections along the way as everyone continues to learn and progress together.
- Don’t overthink it. Information overload has taken on a whole new meaning in light of the global pandemic. Remember, it’s important to be able to discern between too much information or “noise”—which results in analysis/paralysis caused by overwhelm—and staying appropriately informed. Know when to step back and make a decision based on having enough information, rather than drowning in too much of it.
In my next post, I’ll continue to share strategies that CEOs have shared with me on how leaders can navigate the current crises, with a focus on character, trust, transparency, and emotional agility.
How are you leading your team through the current workplace challenges caused by COVID-19? I’d love to hear your strategies. Contact me at info@shambaughleadership.com or link to SHAMBAUGH’s offerings to learn more about SHAMBAUGH in demand offerings such as: Building Your Resilience & Leadership Sustainability, Remote Inclusion, Mitigating Bias – Building a Unified Culture, Executive Coaching, and Inclusive culture.
Rebecca Shambaugh is President of SHAMBAUGH Leadership, and Founder of Women 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. She is author of the best-selling booksIt’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor andMake Room for Her: Why Companies Need an Integrated Leadership Model to Achieve Extraordinary Results.
Find out more about us at: www.shambaughleadership.com