Ashira Gobrin is Chief People Officer at Wave, with 25 years of experience driving business performance through a holistic People strategy.
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We talk a lot about the importance of EQ, mindfulness and communication abilities, and work with teams on accelerating innovation, critical thinking and problem-solving. We interview for people who will work well within our culture and create environments that attract, retain and engage talent. As a result, we have the ability to hire better quality candidates faster, have longer retention rates and higher levels of engagement.
That's all hard enough to get right when everything is going well and your company is growing and hitting its business targets. But when a crisis hits your company, whether it's a shift in the economy, the transformation of industry, technological disruption or a global pandemic, what happens then? If your culture is built around Ping-Pong tables, good snacks and great office perks, you will probably find yourself in an empty room, rebuilding from the ground up.
From the early years of my career, I've seen that if your culture is authentic and your team understands the true connection to purpose, these things do not vanish overnight. These intangible connections cannot be taken away — they are your lifeboat in a time of need.
As a leader, here are some ideas on how to create the path from crisis to calm, using culture as your road map.
Your purpose is your North Star; your values are your compass.
Most people can put aside personal discomfort if they feel a sense of higher purpose. Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning touches on this theory that if people connect to a deeper meaning of "why," the focus will then become on the service of someone or something greater than ourselves. A crisis provides the opportunity to show what type of team or company you are and highlight what you stand for, which will help guide your team through challenging times.
It's time to lean on your values.
Is it clear what your team should be doing in a given situation? If yes, get out of the way and trust your team to get it done. If your team is aligned behind shared values, the rest should flow quite seamlessly. Your values should talk about how you communicate, make decisions, prioritize work and resolve conflicts. Most importantly, your values should help you see clearly in the hard times. If your values are not clear, that should be your No. 1 job to focus on. Sometimes it takes a crisis for us to see this clearly.
Be the best human you can be.
The health, safety and well-being of your employees is your top priority. It's important to use empathy to show that you understand the magnitude of the crisis. When checking in with your teammates, try to avoid using the generic "how are you" questions — or expect to get a generic response. Instead, try asking more specific questions, like "What is your greatest challenge right now?" or "How are you managing, and how can I best support you?"
Above all, make sure to show that you care not only through your words but also your actions. Some examples of how to offer actionable support include being flexible with time off, work schedules and time to care for family.
Lead by example by nourishing yourself.
What are you currently doing to recharge, find calm and keep yourself healthy? Think about this: When you're on a flight and the attendants do the safety check, they kindly remind us in the case of an emergency to put on our oxygen masks before helping other people. If you are running on empty, you will run out of the energy that you need to sustain the rest of your team. Make sure you have the time to eat, sleep and exercise so your performance remains optimal for you and your team.
Create a safe environment based on trust.
You are navigating a new path, so throw all your previous assumptions out the window. By creating a place that is open to receiving input, sharing ideas, raising questions or concerns and even making mistakes, these all reinforce a safe working environment. Now is the time to experiment, learn, adjust and try again while you navigate through these unprecedented times. Make sure you provide the appropriate opportunities for your team to connect, help and support each other through this.
It takes different muscles to lead through hard times than it does through the good times, and not all leaders will thrive in both. You will undoubtedly experience both in your career, but if you stay true to your values and use your purpose to lead, you will come out on the other side feeling proud of the way you led, no matter the outcome.
Communicate clearly and consistently.
Don't take the easy way out. If you avoid getting to the truth, it makes for a harder message to deliver later. Be as direct as you can, and communicate often and transparently so that your team is not left wondering. The fear of not knowing is way harder to manage than the fear of knowing and being able to talk openly and support each other through a hard time.
Approach everything with deliberate calmness and do your best to create a sense of optimism and realism. Most of all, make sure you believe your own message and support the message you deliver to a larger group by following up with one-to-one conversations to make sure your message came through accurately.
Use clear thinking and decisiveness.
Your team needs you to make decisions they can act on. The ambiguity that surrounds a time of uncertainty breeds fear and anxiety. Your best bet is to build a framework and to build it fast. Ensure that you communicate it clearly and empower people around you to work to achieve it. Take the time you need to assess your situation and figure out what you need to do. You can make adjustments later, but there is nothing worse than sitting around, waiting and feeling helpless.
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