Crisis – a time of danger and opportunity
The Chinese say that the word crisis is a combination of danger and opportunity – quite appropriate right now. But I want to concentrate on the ‘opportunity’.
I wanted to share some tips that I have learnt already through this crisis. If you can focus these three things, you can change the way you do business moving forward and become a better leader.
Now is the time to make sure your backyard is in order and you are operating effectively and efficiently so that you can leverage the future.
What has gone wrong so far? What do you need to address urgently and immediately?
Your key concerns are your people, your customers, your suppliers and ensuring that you have cashflow over this tough period - because without these you don't have a business.
1) Do you have a crisis plan / contingency plan?
So - no plan? If you, like most businesses, didn't have a plan on how you were going to manage a situation of this magnitude, you will be feeling out of control and very vulnerable, making decisions without knowing any real tangible facts.
If you have not already had to close your doors like thousands of other businesses across Australia, your team probably feel scared right now, not just about the actual virus but about their jobs and security. They are all thinking - what does this mean for me? You are probably communicating twice as often as normal and half as effectively.
It’s not too late. There are many resources available on creating a crisis plan but here are a few key steps.
1. Create a chain of command. Who is in charge and making the decisions and what their priority is supported by a crisis team.
2. Plan how this team communicates. The way communication happens with each other, key stakeholders, how often and what information you are going to communicate.
3. Create a communication plan for the whole company. I can guarantee that Woolworths, Coles and Qantas Crisis teams are meeting twice a day and are very clear on what is being done, by whom and what needs to be done next.
They will have planned for a crisis - perhaps not of this magnitude - and will be tracking all of their learnings, identifying weaknesses and improving the plan for the future.
Crisis teams will be proactively communicating with all key stakeholders. This will be the absolute priority for these people - their day job will have been delegated.
4. Use this time wisely. Build a company crisis management plan for future events. Don't be unprepared in the future, because your business may not survive a second crisis. There is a lot of information about accessing government support and support from other avenues – make sure you are across this information, as it is changing almost daily.
2) How are you managing risk right now? What risk strategies are in place?
The key here is not to become risk adverse or over react. Now is the time to be courageous, not reckless. Every decision needs a balanced analysis and approach; what is the risk, what’s the expert advice, what’s the impact if we get it wrong, what is the flow on impact of this decision - because there will always be an impact.
Every decision a business makes should be viewed through the company’s values and even more so in a crisis, as it removes the emotion that every individual is personally carrying in this situation, due to their personal beliefs, experience and history.
For example, Woolworths is choosing to pay casuals that miss shifts. There is legislative requirement to do this, but it also supports that they are making decisions through their vision and values of customer first as their key business priorities of customer, brand, team and culture. It also demonstrates that they have read and understood community sentiment and are responding accordingly. Woolworths CEO, Brad Banducci, is continually asking the community to be kind to each other and their staff. The company is showing that they care and they are leading.
3) How are your people? How can you measure how they are? What can you offer or put in place to help them right now?
There is a lot of fear now and a lot of contradictory information. There are many "experts" giving advice. Right now, the key thing all people are thinking is what does this means to me and those I love? How long will it last, will I survive? And for most, there is little that they can do to influence their situation. We are in isolation to keep us all safe. But, most people are not feeling safe, they are feeling fear.
Stay close to them, check in and ask what they need. Some people, like me, now have children at home doing online learning while working. Ohers now have no childcare, or elderly or vulnerable relatives they need to support. Others may have partners who have been laid off. Everyone’s circumstances are different and you’ll never know how best to support your team if you don’t ask.
Encourage connection and talking regularly. The virus has a work impact, an economic impact, a social impact and a personal impact. There is no one size fits all for the human race. But, what people need right now is reassurance that they are not on their own. They need to know that how they are feeling is normal, that other people are there to support them through it – and we need hope and faith in the future. We may be physically isolated, but we don’t have to be socially isolated.
This LinkedIn post from Simon Sinek shows a great way of building connection in remote teams - highly recommended.
Check in regularly with managers and leaders. Don't assume. Be flexible in your approach and solutions. Reach out and encourage the rest of your team to do the same and to look after each other. We are all in this together and we can come out of it stronger if we all look after each other. Be kind, empathetic and compassionate.
Three actions are key right now - kindness, compassion and empathy. If you can practice that from a genuine heart space, you will do the right thing.