The COVID-19 situation is a harsh way to test our resilience and response to global events affecting all industries and individuals everywhere.
However, we always have large freedom and numerous choices open to us as to how we respond to circumstances, including ones that are exceptional and unforeseen.
Whether faced with a global event or one that affects your company or your industry, ensure you take at least the three actions below:
- Be clear about your commitments and communicate to the organization: what will happen and what won’t happen. Cut through the noise and support your teams to deal with the facts. Help them avoid any speculation that takes the focus away from the actions required to calmly respond to the situation.
- Develop and communicate a short-term strategy that serves your clients to the best of your ability without handicapping the future; be judiciously frugal while strengthening the muscle.
- Encourage creativity and new thinking: Where are there opportunities to do business in different ways, to develop new business, to be positioned to capture business at the end of the crisis? Ask for ideas, listen, encourage employees to challenge “truths” and “the way we have always done things.”
Support your teams to respond to the circumstances through these three lenses and you will build new strength in your organization.
