3 Leadership Strategies To Thrive In Challenging Times

Written By Ben & Abena Sey

August 30, 2020

In challenging times, your leadership strength is demonstrated by how well you respond to crisis and the things you do to guide your team effectively through it.  There are 3 initial leadership strategies to take in order to help your organization rise to the challenge and bolster your team’s confidence.  To thrive in challenging times as a leader, it begins with a mindset reset, followed by transformative communication with your team, and ends with personal action steps to take for your health and well being.  We share how to get started below:

1 - YOUR MINDSET RESET

The first step is to stop, breathe and acknowledge how you are feeling.  It is important to first recognize your state of mind and emotions that come as a result of the challenging circumstance.  This will help you have clarity about the impacts of the challenge on your state of mind.  Be honest with yourself about your situation.  

When you have taken this first step, your next step is to be transparent with your team about your feelings.  In your transparency, always strive to give them a sense of hope by conveying that you are looking for solutions and are seeking their input.  In doing so, you show your team that you are human, and also desire to include them in the problem-solving process.  Your team will appreciate your trust in them.  Chances are they are feeling the same way that you do, even though your responsibility is greater as their leader.  

Survey your team to get their perspectives and needs at this time.  This is also important for building trust and working towards solutions.  When your team’s needs are met, they will be better equipped to take the necessary actions in their role within the organization.

Be adaptable and flexible when responding to your team’s needs.  There is a difference between the two.  Adaptability is action-oriented and result-oriented.  This involves achieving results in a different way than it was done previously.  To accomplish this action, a leader needs to be flexible.  Flexibility involves being open and being able to calmly respond to changing situations.

You must understand that in periods of change, things are dynamic on all levels -- socially, economically, technologically, and globally.  Given this, you must be willing to adapt.  Have an understanding that the processes or operational framework that you are used to may not work for the current climate.  It is okay to grieve the old way of doing things, but then leave it alone and move on.  The new way may be inconvenient or require more resources, but it is worth it, if it means responding appropriately to change. Think of creative ways of doing what you used to do that are suited to the current climate and still meet your organization’s needs.

2 - COMMUNICATION IS THE GLUE THAT HOLDS IT ALL TOGETHER

In this strategy, begin with clear communication of expectations in advance as this puts employees at ease, and shows that you are planning for their success.  Use your communication to provide clarity, give direction, and encourage accountability.  This is an ongoing process, especially as your team learns to adapt to the changes.  

Set the example for your team.  Model the expectations, demonstrate adaptability and flexibility, and show your willingness to think of creative solutions to address needs and concerns.  Be bold. Don’t be afraid to confront those who are not adhering to the new procedures or to say no to a request that is counter-productive.  These are all strategies to show you are modelling the behaviours you expect to see.  There will be pain points, but that is a part of the growth process.  The pain points are temporary, but failing to respond quickly and appropriately results in negative outcomes that will last even longer.

3 - YOUR PERSONAL ACTION STEPS

Now that you have a renewed mindset and have clearly communicated and responded to your team, the last strategy involves personal action steps:  

Establish a new routine to account for the changes you face.  Having a routine creates a sense of normalcy and helps with productivity.  This action also reduces anxiety, because it is familiar to you.  Your employees will also benefit from this sense of normalcy.

Keep a journal about how you are feeling.  Writing is cathartic, so it will help you make sense of your feelings and help you think of solutions.  Writing also keeps you accountable and helps you track your growth.  Journaling is also valuable time to self-reflect and realign your goals, if they are not appropriate for the situation.

Prioritize your health and well-being.  Establish wellness routines such as healthy eating, getting exercise, and making time for fun.  Be sure to set boundaries for your time, so that you can have a healthy separation between your work and your personal priorities.  If this is difficult, create a daily schedule for yourself in which you time block activities that are for work and activities that are for your personal obligations.        

Implementing these 3 leadership strategies in challenging times is integral for the health of your organization.  Your team is relying on you to guide them through it all.  You must be able to think critically and respond appropriately to each challenge that arises.  Follow these 3 steps to help you arrive at clarity and creative solutions to ensure your organization thrives.