July 14, 2020
By: Sally Stavola, Talent Acquisition Specialist
During times of crisis, strong leadership is more critical to keep a team motivated. For business leaders, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for change within each business and for messages to be communicated clearly and concisely. More than ever, the health of businesses is linked with the health of employees.
Crisis management revolves around sudden and unexpected events which disrupts employees, organizations, and clients. Leaders need to think strategically and make critical decisions for overall management and response, providing direction and management driven toward that response.
For leaders to respond effectively, they should act on three initiatives: Clarifying business purpose, supporting employees, and encouraging organizational resilience.
Clarify Business Purpose
Employees want clear direction and communication around the purpose of the business. Holding the line is good, however there is a need to rediscover and move forward. Emphasizing business purpose and instilling confidence and goodwill with employees can help stabilize all parties. During these times employees, customers, and investors will gravitate toward organizations whose purpose reflects their personal values and beliefs. A good example of rethinking business and goodwill is BLEND360’s creative Consultant Spotlight initiative. By proactively showcasing consultants to clients, this enables top talent access to new projects.
Communication and Support
Take a temperature check of the employees of the organization and give them support when and where needed. Start your meetings with a “check in”, address those who may be particularly vulnerable. Identify their needs and recognize how they may be different in each case offering additional counsel when available.
Resilience and Perseverance
Lastly, prioritize the resilience of your organization. You will need to stay the course and to handle the kind of attention that comes from doing so. To make that adjustment, identify and access the actions and behaviors that make you a more thoughtful and capable leader.
When faced with an overwhelming amount of critical decisions, leaders may feel the urge to grip tighter for control, however organizational resilience depends on listening to other perspectives – all driving towards a common mission. Stay flexible and open to hearing the suggestions of your team with a focus on the business purpose and mindful of different employee perspectives.
