Leadership through a crisis - Optimum Consulting

Well 2020 has sprung us all a few surprises – and not the good kind!

Here in Australia, we started the year with severe droughts, severe bushfires and then, of course, the biggest impact to the global economy we have seen in a lifetime: a global pandemic in the form of Covid-19.

So how do you handle this as a leader or team manager?

Here are some thoughts that I hope help:

1. Show Understanding, Empathy, Respect

Everyone is feeling uncertain, anxious – Ask your people what they are looking for and how they are feeling (a small pulse poll might help if you cannot get across everyone individually).

2. Reflection

Ensure you as an individual and your direct team stop, reflect and reset – during uncertainty decisions will have to made daily – it is important you take the opportunity to reflect and recharge

3. Add Humour

There will be heaps of research around the leadership traits you need – I think humour is underrated and may be the most important leadership traits through a crisis.

Laughter:

• Relieves stress and boredom
• Boosts engagement and well-being
• Spurs creativity and collaboration

It has benefits for Physical, Mental and Social Health.

4. Take Control

• Communicate: communicate more, communicate through tech. (My Employee Life)

• Engage employees: this is the perfect time to get engagement – or dis-engage your people. (Employee Life)

• Reflect regularly to obtain more effective action

• Set clear goals, expectations (try weekly sprints) and Coach (GROW Model)

Of course, I cannot leave you without a couple of motivational quotes:

“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection, will come even more effective action.” – Peter Drucker

I hope everyone reading this is safe and well – as we are working in isolation, it is important to know that we have all been affected and we are all handling it differently.

I hope this blog helps to keep the resilience up and get everyone through the other side.

Let us hope the end of 2020 throws us some nice surprises but whatever the future holds opportunity arises out of adversity: for many of us the “Future of Work” has been fast-forwarded – let’s embrace it and the changes that will follow!

If you do need some more tips or HR tools to help your team, please get in contact with me directly or through our website: www.ogroup.com.au

Stephen Cushion
General Manager – Consulting