Leading Through Adversity: How to Adjust Your Style to Weather Any Storm

If this pandemic has taught us anything, the level and style of leadership across the US Government and US Businesses varies widely. A quick look at government leaders like  Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Dr. Fauci, Andrew Cuomo, Gavin Newsom shows how differently a crisis can be addressed. For the public, there seems to be no middle ground. You either love the way they’re handling things or you hate it. The same seems to be true with our captains of industry: Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos. Are they helping the world or helping themselves?

One thing is evident being a leader is difficult, leading through adversity is next level stuff. When you’re in a leadership position, whether it’s at work, as a volunteer or within your friend circle, how do you adapt your style to fit the situation?

Read, Don’t React: when things are changing, a leader must quickly read the situation and accept that change is occurring. He or she may not understand the full extent of the change or know how to solution it, but recognizing that there’s a shift is critical. This is not the time to be obtuse or flippant about what’s happening. Leaders stand out when they can say, “I see this happening and we’ll get through it.”

Adopt a 360° View: during a crisis it’s easy to look outward to find a cause or pinpoint a problem. This may be key to identifying the “what” of it all. But in order to adjust, a leader must look within. For example, are you a leader who takes input from others or do you act on your own advice? Are you purely data driven or do you apply gut feel to decision making? Understanding your leadership motivators will help you pivot, strengthen or soften where needed.

Be the Calm: When your team struggles or is concerned about what’s next you have the opportunity to hear them out. Town Halls, Manager Q&As or AMAs are easy ways to solicit feedback and hear what’s on your team’s mind. Recognize that as a leader, people need to hear from you and you need to hear from them. The act of listening should never be underestimated.

How have you evolved your leadership style to navigate a crisis? Let’s discuss!

Change Management & the Importance of Staff Buy-in

As a business leader, you’ve embraced change within your organization. But a big question remains: Has your staff done the same?

Staff buy-in is a key component to change implementation. It is important for staff members to not only understand how the business will benefit from the changes, but they also need to understand how the changes will affect them personally. 

Change is scary. Given this, empathy is imperative. 

Highlighting the changes and discussing concerns as well as pain points with the staff creates a partnership and allows for staff input. Staff members are able to talk about what scares them. This input is also very useful to the business leader—it helps to determine whether something needs to be actioned or if it is just a general concern about doing things differently. 

As the consultant who helps roll-out the changes, I work with all stakeholders to analyze the resistance and make updates accordingly. 

In addition to creating an open, productive dialogue with staff members, I promote buy-in by helping to design a reasonable timeline. When changes are implemented too quickly, it is challenging to be thoughtful about the effects on the staff members’ day-to-day workflow. Conversely, if the changes take too long, momentum is lost, and people tune out.

I work with the business leader and organization to find their sweet spot—where the change has momentum but doesn’t turn everything on its head. 

With an empathic, well thought-out, and flexible approach, the business leader will be viewed as a partner (as opposed to an iron fist). A true connection with, and understanding of, the affected staff members will help the program move forward. 

Nothing occurs overnight, and the roll-out timeline is influenced by a variety of factors including company size, market environment, etc. Regardless of the size and scope of the changes, business leaders have an increased chance of sustained change if there is a foundation of trust and camaraderie. 

Thinking of making changes in your organization? Contact me today!