How to Lead Well Through the Coronavirus Crisis

Five steps you can implement today

COVID-19 is affecting you and every member of your team in potentially drastic ways. People are scared—for their health, the safety of loved ones, continued employment, and their finances. Nothing is a given now. How can you as a leader mitigate your team’s fears? Is it even possible to expect productivity when their emotions and attention are fragmented?

Here’s a five-step process for leading well through the coronavirus crisis.

1. Understand your team is traumatized.

Productivity and motivation are handicapped now for good reason. COVID-19 is striking at our basic levels of human need, and the world we know is no longer safe. Understand that you are leading frightened individuals. That will help you behave and communicate in ways that underscore their sense of safety and stability.

Philo of Alexandria offered some sound advice for leaders facing uncertain seasons: “Be kind for everyone you know is facing a hard battle.”

2. Put your own mask on first.

You can’t give away something you don’t have. If you feel uncertain, unsafe, and stressed, your chances of leading effectively during a crisis are slim. As the flight attendants say, put your own mask on first; take care of you. Do this by managing your own stress and anxiety well—use what you already know works for you. Meditation, exercise, healthy nutrition, community engagement (virtual community is better than no community), and trips outside for Vitamin D-filled sun are all healthy ways to mitigate your stress and boost your immune system. Schedule short breaks, and be intentional.

Learn More: Listen to our podcast series, Leaders, Be Good to Yourself. 

3. Think like a first responder.

Your team, family, and community are in shock. Their sense of safety has been violated in a significant way, and there’s no clear end to the assault. Stay in tune with your team by looking for early warning signs: loss of motivation, disengagement, and diminished productivity. You might also see dampened collaboration, creativity, and innovation or an inability to see the big picture (loss of peripheral vision can accompany shock and trauma). Team members will manifest personal stress differently: some nervous and unusually chatty, others quiet and withdrawn. Unchecked, these become the precursors for more intense behaviors and emotions like depression, aggression, or hostility.

4. Lead like a first responder.

If you see the early signs of shock and trauma, lead like a first responder. The following steps may help:

• Ask: “I know this is an incredibly challenging time for you. Are you okay? What is happening right now that makes this difficult for you?” (Most are not only concerned for themselves but are also carrying concern for vulnerable family members and friends.)
• Normalize Their Response: “What you are feeling is a very normal reaction to a very unusual situation.”
• Acknowledge This Is Bigger Than Work: You may need to gently remind them that your concern goes beyond work. They need the safety of knowing that you are committed to them simply as a fellow human being.
• Ask How You Can Help: You don’t have to be the answer to their challenge, but you may be able to direct them to a source of relief. People become very short sighted in a crisis and often lose touch with resources that are normally obvious.

5. Create a safe space.

Your leadership may be the only safe space your team members have in this crazy season. You can effect change and a sense of safety within the realm of your influence.

Learn More: Listen to our podcast series, Your Team’s Top Three Needs to Thrive.

Lead well!

Bill