Leading Through Change

If you want to see a good leader in action, observe their behavior when there is imminent danger and catastrophe. As South Florida anxiously waited to see which direction Hurricane Dorian would turn in early September, Governor Ron DeSantis demonstrated solid leadership: he actually read the 300-page hurricane preparedness plan, deliberately took action, communicated calmly and consulted with state and local officials, empowering them to make decisions rather than using a top-down messaging style as seen with his Republican predecessor. 

Unfortunately, this type of steady leadership is not always the case. Rather, the tendency for many leaders is to exhibit certain negative behaviors under extremely stressful circumstances including avoidance, poor judgement, unclear communication and setting inconsistent expectations. 

Change and instability in a business can come in many degrees and forms–when business slows down, negative PR blind-sides a brand, good talent leaves, and cash flow dwindles.  I would argue that all organizations need to expect and plan for change and instability. This piece however is not going to focus on the different business practices to prepare for such instability, but on what you can do as a leader when change and disruption occurs. 

• Communicate Openly and Frequently. Validate the fears/anxieties of your team and let them know you understand what they are feeling and thinking. Communicate step-by-step what you and your leadership team is doing to address the challenges at hand, your expectations from the team and any outcomes that you anticipate.

• Get immediate feedback from your staff and leadership team. Too often, leaders under stress make impulsive decisions out of fear or a need for control and power. Off-set this by getting real-time feedback, input and data from key staff so you can make informed decisions. This will also help your team feel part of the solution rather than feeling helpless.

• Provide a short-term plan of action. Translate this feedback into an immediate plan of action with concrete measurable results that gets communicated across all teams. Your team will need to flex and adapt to these new priorities.  

• Keep your team focused on its purpose. Remind your team about the vision, mission and core values of why your organization exists and the value it adds to people’s lives. 

• Keep your team focused on priorities. Remind your team to stay focused on short-term priorities and to not get side-tracked. Recognize and reward this behavior.

• Debrief afterwards. After the period of instability passes, debrief with your teams, asking: what did we do well? what didn’t work well? what can we do better next time? Take advantage of this window while the experience is still fresh so you can consolidate your team’s insights and translate them into an improved action plan going forward.