LEADING! in - and through - Crisis

Well we are not in Kansas anymore.  

As I write this I am practicing my own social distancing, maintaining a coaching/consulting practice through virtual means and (currently/temporarily) acting as daddy day care to my 6 and 9-year old daughters.  This latter part comes as both their school and daycare have been closed for the foreseeable future.  As a family we are now trying to navigate many of the shoals that all of you are now living - maintaining an income stream for bills that still need to get paid, cancelling vacation plans (slated for late April/early May), keeping the cupboards stocked (while not hoarding!), trying to advise and support elderly parents remotely, setting up education plans for our kids so that they actually do "graduate" and are ready for Grade 2 and Grade 5 in September and re-establishing sustainable child care.

That is "just" the personal/family side of the equation.  Then there is the business side of the equation.  We are well-positioned for long-term viability.  Short-term pain on the other hand is a reality.  From my past leadership experience - leading portfolios of several hundreds of millions of dollars, thousands of staff and many more thousands of client interactions I also appreciate the tremendous strain on leaders at all levels of an organization as they try to the current reality.  I speak from personal experience having been a senior leader if he former Caritas Health Group as the Senior VP and Chief Operating Officer with specific responsibility for all clinical services at the Misericordia and Grey Nuns hospitals.  I was also one of that organization's key liaisons with Alberta Health Services and Alberta Health as we attempted to coordinate our response efforts on a provincial and, sometimes, even on a national scale.

In my time as a manager/leader dating back to 1986, I've had the opportunity to work with and observe many leaders, managers and staff.  They have all helped me grow and develop my own leadership philosophy and style.  Sometimes I've learned great tools and techniques from them as they have navigated normal and not so normal situations.  

One of the areas of greatest learning has been in the experience of seeing how managers and leaders react to "adverse" events.  Those events have covered a spectrum of circumstances - poor (to deadly) service to clients, a staff crisis, or a building or equipment malfunction impacting service delivery.  Or pandemic responses like H1N1.  The set of circumstances is largely irrelevant other than in trying to convey that something bad has happened - is happening - that needs to be addressed.  More importantly for me, is the importance that strong and calm leadership behaviors can make in those circumstances.  

Despite the challenges before us leadership at times of crisis - at times like these - calls upon us to be pillars of stability, strength and vision even when we don't come close to feeling that way!  What we critically need to avoid is becoming part of or creating the crisis that we are supposed to be managing or solving.

Your role as leader "...keep your head when all about you are losing theirs..."

All too often, there can be a tendency to lose one's head during a real or perceived crisis.  There is no doubt that with COVID-19 that we are experiencing a real and impending crisis.  The worst for us here in Alberta and Canada is likely yet to come.  However, our actions in response - like hoarding foodstuffs and other basic supplies - will only exacerbate an already difficult situation.  Similarly in our leadership roles, we have to resist the leadership equivalent of buying up all the toilet paper we can get our hands on.

So what might allow a leader to respond more appropriately and calmly even in the face of the current crisis.  Ironically, the best advice might come from an Ironman tip that I received long ago - go slow to go fast.  Leaders need to find the courage and discipline to step back for long enough to evaluate whether in fact they are responding to the right issue at the right time.  You are going to get literally hundreds of problems and "solutions" thrown your way in the next number of days and weeks.  And these "solutions" are all motivated by everyone trying to achieve the best possible results and outcomes, not recognizing that none of us are operating from our best thinking place.  We are all under stress and duress particularly in circumstances like COVID-19 when you are juggling every area of one's life right now.

Ironically, what might be required is less decisive - reactive - decision-making and a lot more patience and deliberation.  It might make a leader antsy but slowing down and being more considered will result in less unproductive expenditure of precious time and energy.  Time and energy that needs to be put to better use right now.  Immediate action or any action does not mean effective action.  While hoping that an immediate/decisive response establishes or maintains a persona of being in control, responsible and competent, the reality is often far different.  More often the sense we end up  conveying to staff and others around us is that we are in panic mode.  We move from "leader" to generating fear, stress and anxiety to everyone unfortunate to be caught up in the vortex of activity.   

Aside from the mental distress that the leader is subjecting themselves and their team to, a "decisive" yet hasty reaction is just as likely (or more likely) to lead to the wrong decision as to the right one.  In most situations we rarely have 100% perfect information.  In crisis situations this is even more the case.  Therefore, crisis demands disciplined leadership, an ability to remain calm, and the strength to keep yourself and your team focused in order to solve the problem at hand.  In my experience, panic and performance excellence rarely go together.  A panicked reaction often leads to more problems to solve.

A leader in crisis (versus a leader who manages through crisis) also creates a number of other negative impacts that may not be understood at the time or even later. First, in your haste to make a decision, you many not even be solving the right problem but merely papering over symptoms.  Second, by making a hasty decision you may inadvertently compromise your ability to achieve other more important objectives.  Third, rather than creating an effective and productive team you are more likely creating fear, reduced productivity, risk aversion and indecisiveness amongst your staff.  Ultimately, you are also doing damage to the perception of your leadership capacity - you are not creating an image of a confident and competent leader amongst your team, peers, superiors, or other stakeholders that can be looked to for strength in times of challenge.  You become self-defeating.

So Keep Calm and Carry On!  Easier said than done I know.  It may somewhat paradoxical right now but there will be value in taking a "breakpoint" to truly clarify your thinking.  As a leader there is value - even now - in not being "on" at all times.  Your job is a thinking job, a cerebral job.  Give yourself time to think before acting. 

Your considered reaction will calm others, help them focus on doing the right things, and ensure understanding of all impacts of your actions.  I'm convinced that by taking a more measured and less panicked approach that you will make better decisions and the confidence in your leadership will be enhanced.

Leadership excellence means more patience, poise and discipline than ever before.   

_________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC

President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions

gregh@breakpoint.solutions 

www.breakpoint.solutions 

780-250-2543

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.