covid-19:an opportunity for courageous & inclusive leadership
published 3.17.20
It’s hard not to feel anxious and paranoid about the Coronavirus as we watch communities around the world respond to the effects of the pandemic. If you manage a team or even one person, you are in a unique position to demonstrate and model resilience and compassion. Frame this challenge as a chance to strengthen organizational foundations for long-term sustainable growth.
Company culture is confirmed in crisis.
Your ability to emerge from this pandemic with people more certain (than ever) of why they work for you and what you stand for, is an invaluable opportunity. A lack of response, silence, or worse - a focus on maintaining output for the sake of productivity and profit - only serves to distance your talent and sow their distrust.
By taking a proactive, inclusive, and thoughtful approach, you are minimizing risk to organizational business continuity and demonstrating that you care about your employees (and their families). If people realize that all of the golden values that were espoused in good times quickly disappear in the face of crisis, trust will erode and culture will rot. Much greater problems will lie ahead for the health, strength, and resiliency of the organization once this crisis is over.
Everyone should feel seen and cared for.
Here are some ways you can exhibit leadership, instill trust, and foster loyalty:
Show your team they are valued not only as a collective, but also as individuals.
Take the time to think about your approach to remote work, and communicate it proactively.
Make sure you are asking talent about their needs and providing direct lines of communication to share them with senior management.
Encourage people to ask for helpful and necessary accommodations, and ensure leadership is following through with creative problem-solving to meet each individual's unique requests.
It is more important than ever for remote employees to feel connected to a team and engaged in their work. It is challenging to maintain a high level of interaction when “social distancing” is the recommended course of action. If organizations are utilizing platforms for communication that allow members to express their concerns, find information, and offer support and assistance, connection will strengthen instead of stifle. There are plenty of free resources if you’re a small business (reach out if you’d like our recommendations as a fellow small business).
Be clear and proactive.
If your organization does not have a communication and action plan in place, it will be glaringly obvious to your stakeholders and only further emphasize the need to proactively develop one. Here are some statements to consider sharing with your team (as long as they reflect your current or temporary policies):
The health, safety, and well-being of our community is always, and will always be our number one priority. We will never ask you to compromise these.
Ensuring that all members of our community are cared for means that we must listen, try to understand, and act according to each individual’s unique perspective and experience in this matter.
Crisis calls for unity. We will never allow any language or behavior that makes anyone in our community feel blamed, attacked, isolated, or excluded.
We have not dealt with a crisis like this before, but we know who we are, what we stand for, and the values that will guide our decisions as we navigate this difficult issue.
We are not perfect, but we will be transparent and we ask your support and engagement so that we can all survive and grow together.
We’re all connected.
And this virus is proof. Engage with your local communities thoughtfully. Ask yourself, your leadership, and your team:
Does our organization have resources in plenty that we can give/donate?
Where/how do we need to give, and where/how should we be asking to receive?
Are there opportunities to create new relationships and strengthen bonds within our local community and industry?
Within our organization, how can we learn what the needs of our members are so that we can coordinate resource sharing and giving?
Thank you for reading. Stay safe, keep your distance, and wash your hands.
qb. is a purpose-driven strategy and communications firm with a remote workforce. We are proud to be a women and minority-owned business, and we donate 1% of our profits to the International Rescue Committee. If you’re interested in receiving support navigating these trying times, please contact us.
A note: We know not everyone has the privilege of working remotely, and many people are seeing their income affected. Please consider ways in which you can support small and local businesses (and gig economy workers) you would have spent money with before COVID-19.
by Rebecca Blake Thompson
Senior Consultant
