“I've always had a duck personality. Calm above water, feet going crazy below.” - K. Flay
Leading during volatile and uncertain times is like the duck who is calm on top but paddling like crazy below the surface. Leading teams effectively during times of crisis requires remaining calm. But also, it requires reacting and responding to challenges as they arise.
The question of how to keep employees engaged during a crisis and keeping your own head above the water long term is the challenge of the day.
Here are 3 ways to help:
1. Communicate early and often
Amid storms, it is tempting to launch into action before taking the time to communicate. But that can only lead to confusion and frustration. Having a dedicated mechanism to communicate in a pinch can be very helpful.
As an HR executive for a particular organization, I knew that major organizational changes were coming. Getting announcement out effectively to staff who were spread out several miles apart would have been hard. Out a commitment for transparency, I set up a conference call option that would enable me to initiate a sudden announcement. All staff knew to hop on the conference call at a moment’s notice. Supervisors were also ready to provide updates should their staff not be able to attend any of the calls. I received frequent messages of appreciation and the morale of my staff remained high even during major organizational changes.
2. Assign a mentor or buddy to each employee
If there are major disruptions going on that can be upsetting for employees consider assigning a mentor or buddy to each employee. If anything, a quick “check-in” with each other is a nice human touch during troubling times. This encourages employees to hold each other up while leaders are busy fighting fires.
3. Empower employees to make decisions
Giving employees the authority to make decisions will alleviate the weight on leaders’ shoulders. Problems get solved quicker and more effectively. In addition, studies show that empowered employees are more engaged.
While leaders may be feeling drenched from sailing smack into the pandemic storm, it’s not too late to implement these new and refreshed approaches. If leaders have lost ground with employee engagement, it’s not too late to re-energize your workplace. But leaders must first be willing to engage themselves and regenerate above and beyond their own crisis fatigue.
