4 Strategies for Leading Through Crisis

I once walked off a job interview because I did not sense that the hiring manager cares enough about his employees. He was offended and sent me a horrible email that I still read to inspire me to be a better leader. Little did he know that he would apply to work for me a few years later.

I interviewed him; unfortunately, I did not hire him. I say unfortunately because he worked on himself so much that he became one of the best leaders that I know.

I start with this story to emphasize two points, caring about your team members matters, and continuing to learn and grow is critical to your leadership.

2020 pandemic exposed most leaders.

There are two things that most leaders let go of at the beginning of this pandemic. Caring about their teams and learning. Most leaders were managers who claimed that they were leaders, and there is a big difference between management and leadership.

Managers manage, leaders Lead

Managers manage operations, and they do a great job as long as they are not required to change anything. Leaders lead. They influence others, they respond, they adapt, they evolve, and they pivot every day.

Managers follow the procedure. They follow a map. The pandemic forced us to act with no tangible map, no defined standard operating procedures, and managers who refuse to lead got lost.

They did not know how to manage their team remotely. They did not know what to measure and how to measure. Leaders led. They knew that they needed to treat their team members as humans. They understood that they need to ask, "How is your family?" before they asked about productivity.

They were able to adapt and pivot their operation. They held virtual meetings and allowed people to connect with their families first, and their work second, and their organizations are better off because of it.

Our society is better off because few leaders stopped managing their teams and led them to a better tomorrow.

When leaders lead, we all win, and by leaders, I mean all of us. We all lead with or without a title. We all have the ability to care more, to connect better, and to judge less. We all have the ability to reach our team members and say, "How are you?"

1- Be Exceedingly Human

Patrick Lencioni states the importance of connecting with your team on a personal level. He encourages leaders to be exceedingly human. Leaders should ask their employees about their fears, dreams, and anxieties. This pandemic is challenging us on multiple fronts, health, socially, and economically. Everyone wants to work for a leader who cares about their lives as much as they care about their business.

2- Let Them Hear Your Voice

Andy Stanley encourages leaders to step out of their comfort zone and to connect with their team members, "During times of disruption, your voice is more important than your words. It's not enough for people to read your words. Emails and texts are for normal times. In times of disruption, people need to hear your voice." To connect with your team, they have to hear your voice, do not hide behind a computer screen, expect them to come to you, go where they are at, and talk to them.

3- Do Not Ignore Your Team Emotional State

Rebecca Knight wrote a brilliant article in HBR titled How to Talk to Your Team When the Future Is Uncertain, she explains that it's important to make a special effort to understand your team members. Leaders make a horrible mistake when they ignore their team's emotional state and focus on business 100 % of the time.

4- Lead with Empathy

Connect with your team and do not lead out of fear. As Paul Argenti, a professor of corporate communication at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business, articulates in the Harvard Business Review, "When dealing with uncertainty, leaders need to look at communication from the perspective of your audience and have empathy for them rather than fear of doing the wrong thing. Once employees feel that you care about them, they will become more responsive and caring about each other.

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