In our respective practices of guiding leaders through periods of disruption, we stress the importance of keeping a “mountain-top” view of the situation at hand. But how do we lead from a mountain top when we’re sitting at our kitchen tables, trying to see the world through our laptops and phones?
For the past several weeks, as the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the world to shelter in place, we’ve been talking to clients in companies large and small about what good leadership looks like in the current world of distributed workplaces.
Here are eight steps you can take to lead your team be their best.
1. Reset Your mindset
Your state of mind colors your perception of what is happening and affects your thinking about how to respond. It also colors everyone else’s experience of you, even if they’re only “seeing” you through email (and believe us, the way you email can be very revealing). Self-awareness is job No. 1. You must know you can make this situation work the way Simone Biles knows she can do a double back flip with three twists and stick the landing. Mindset doesn’t just happen – it takes self-discipline to build the “mindset muscle.” So, throughout the day, check your mindset and reset it on: “I can do this.”
2. Develop a new game plan
In the old days (like, back in February), you could walk through your office and call plays like a quarterback. But now that the playing field has changed, the game has changed, too. In this new reality, you’re not playing football anymore, you’re playing soccer, and you have to trust that your players at the far end of the field know where the goal is and are accountable for the score.
3. Model the ‘Right Way’
Usually, when significant changes come in our lives, we have time to prepare. The problem with the COVID-19 shutdown was that there was no time. Your people are looking to you for social cues that tell them how to respond. Your job is to demonstrate right thought and actions. Even remotely, you can be a role model. Be on time for meetings (and dressed for work), stick to the agenda and be present, not checking your texts or email. Laugh more.
4. Get personal
You think this is hard for you? What about people who make half of what you do and have young kids at home? Acknowledge their new reality and be vulnerable enough to share your own. Let it be funny when someone’s cat jumps up on their keyboard. Encourage your people to share their stories and insights – and be vulnerable enough to share yours. You have time for this. As Marie Kondo would tell you, create a sense of spaciousness for everyone. This experience is personal for all of us.
5. Prioritize what matters most
This can actually be a good time to do less. Many of our clients are using the challenges of these times to pare back on routine processes and practices that produce little value, some eliminating as much as 50 percent of what they used to do. If it doesn’t matter, don’t waste your time. Create and share weekly plans, so everyone knows what matters today and through the week. As we’ve come to see, different things may matter next week. And if there’s one thing this moment teaches us, nothing matters more than people.
6. Map your territory
Create visual aids to see the new playing field. Back in the office, you had a mental map of the layout, and, whether you were aware of it or not, you used that map to help you track what your teams were working on. You can still use that map. Create a visual representation of your old office layout, with all your teams, and use notes to track what you want them focused on. Mind-mapping lends itself to real-time visualizations of who is doing what and by when.
7. Create Gatherings
Bring teams together via chats and Zoom calls. Encourage people to sound off to their groups – “getting payroll finished this morning!” – via text, Slack or email. Start the day with a quick 360 of your direct reports, so everyone knows what everyone else is focused on and can offer help. And schedule regular all-hands webinars. Tell people what’s going on, encourage them to share their stories and help them reset their own mindsets. Invite direct reports and other leaders to moderate the calls. And whatever you do, be mindful of how you come across. No one needs to see the boss’s lavish digs.
8. Recognize accomplishments
People need to know you see and appreciate them, so make sure you recognize what each of them is accomplishing, just by showing up and standing tall. Incentivize them by letting them know you get them, get the struggle and admire their fortitude. When an individual does something special, call it out. But mostly, focus on what the whole team has accomplished, even if it was as simple as keeping everyone safe and making it through another week.
This too shall pass. But until it does, remember that this event is continuously evolving, and everyone is struggling for a stable place to be. Your job is to provide that stability.
And when you’ve done that, go back and reset your mindset.
You can do this.
Amanda Brown-Olmstead and Dain Dunston are founding partners of Reservoir, LLC, an advisory firm that provides resources for leadership. Eric McNulty is the Associate Director of Harvard’s National Preparedness Leadership Initiative. Mark Lipton is a graduate professor of management at The New School in New York and head of thought leadership for Deloitte’s CEO program.
