I hinted at something in this article: that there were a large number of leaders who have not had the experience of leading through an economic downturn since they became senior leaders.
Since penning that note, I have spoken with several leaders who are in this demographic who have had some really powerful on-the-ground observations. I’m going to paraphrase a bit, but if you could hear them talking, they would say they feel isolated and anxious to both “know what’s going on” and also to become part of the solution.
From what I’m hearing, these very talented leaders are having one of two different experiences:
- Focused on the Future: The first group is running from video conference to video conference, working hard to keep pace with the dizzying rate of assessing the business, learning about this virus and proposing ways to make changes that fit the world we are moving into. Since we only have a hazy view of the future, leaders have built short goals (90 to 180 day targets) they are leading toward.
- Focused on the Now: The second group is working hard to keep the lights on and meet customer needs. They are not in the continuous meeting cycle but know in their bones that big changes are coming. They are being asked for bits and pieces of data for scenario planning, but those scenarios are being very closely held at the crisis team level right now.
As we’ll explore below, this creates big tension.
Why it Happens
When things are changing quickly there is a desperate human need to know what’s going on. We are all very thirsty to assess ourselves: where we fit it, what it means for our team, and so forth.
Secondly, things are moving so fast, that it’s hard for leaders to lock in on anything concrete.
The interesting thing is that once we know, we typically don’t take the time or work on an appropriate level of detail that allows the next layer in the organization to be briefed. Once our cup has been filled, we don’t naturally pass it on. Two things contribute to this: team size and the need to keep deliberations private to respect our peers.
Teams in crisis tend to be small and tight, typically averaging half a dozen, and rarely bigger than a dozen. This size keeps the communications workload reasonable (the communications path increases exponentially with each addition), and allows for sufficient diversity for subject matter expertise and diversity of leadership style.
When faced with an absolutely new challenge, teams need to have a private, vibrant forum to work out early decisions and later policy directions amongst one another before scaling them. This need for respectful radio silence while deliberating is key to providing a safe place to voice and decompose powerful opinions and insights as a team.
It’s really important to not lose connection with the larger firm, and keep talking about what we can talk about – that is the core fabric of mission, vision and values.
We need to avoid prolonged radio silence.
Why This is of Concern
When skilled leaders are left to build their own assessment (the group not in the crisis response room), two things happen:
- First, they invent a working hypothesis and begin to test and share it. Then, other leaders do too. This results is everyone comparing notes and trying to determine what’s ”right.”
- Secondly, these projections are nearly always more dystopian than what is actually being discussed and can create lots of unneeded anxiety at the least – and perhaps good people leaving the firm at the worst.
Three Ways to Support Your Hard-Driving, Mid-Senior Leaders During This Time
- Make time to communicate. Conversation is the currency of engagement and retention during these times. Employees respect a leader who can be clear about what they know and what they don’t know and what they can say and what they can’t comment on at the moment. What your teams are really looking for is progressive clarity around the approach – and to know that smart, principled people are on the job. By emphasizing powerful stories and values-based anchoring, you’ll let them know they are building something bigger than themselves.
- Reinforce and tie back to values, vision, and mission. Any steps you take will be rooted there, and it’s a perfect time and appropriate place to use them as a foundation point for your discussions with team leaders. By using them to explain that we are looking carefully, but in the context of these principles, it adds certainty in a very uncertain world. Much like the way an anchor turns a sailboat into the wind, having something to tether their view to will add resilience.
- Do share what you can. Many times the leader gets caught up in thinking that until they have the final plan, they can’t share anything. Those with media training are skilled at what we call the three-part answer: I can’t share that (fill in the blank), but I can share (perhaps the people, process, or technology you are using) and we are doing it with these key principles in mind.
The Bottom Line
I’m increasingly convinced that we won’t be exiting this crisis with the same companies that we entered it with – and it’s up to the whole team to work towards being a better firm than when we started.
We will want and need our key leaders who can do the transformative work in a strategic, principled, and effective way. Investing in keeping your best and brightest engaged at a missional level and as informed as possible is a great way to head off retention or morale issues early.
Help
If you’d like custom, first-person insights and guidance during this unique time, please reach out. You can call my direct line at 847-651-1014 or put a meeting at a time that works for you directly on my calendar using this link.
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