Team leaders: How were your leadership chops stretched?
When the pandemic began, I was running a design leadership training business. Our courses were mostly in-person, which very abruptly became something I never imagined: unsafe.
And then, "Oh *&%^!, revenue is tanking.".
And then, "Oh *&%^!, we have to pivot our business immediately.".
I felt very unprepared to lead through such an extreme and sudden crisis, and I VERY quickly came to appreciate the leadership skills of those who were already equipped to do so. (People with military backgrounds were probably leagues ahead of the rest of us!)
💥 Here’s what I saw that worked:
(Gleaned through my experiments, observations, and stories I heard)
- Shared purpose and mission (Unity amidst chaos and fear)
- Extreme decisiveness (No time for waffling, my friend.)
- Extremely clear communication (Here’s what we are doing and your role in it.)
- Demonstrating authentic empathy for the team (Our leaders are watching out for us)
- Showing emotion and vulnerability (We are in this, together.)
An employee at a large company told me about the weekly Ask Me Anythings the executive team started shortly after the pandemic began. In one session, one of the male executives broke down and cried. Rather than making him look weak, his humanity touched the team. He wasn’t an executive unable to feel when everyone else was feeling so much. His humanity elevated the commitment of the individuals to the organization.
I hope we don’t completely lose the lessons of the pandemic in the uptick of pace since.
What lessons do you want us to remember?
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👋🏼 I'm Teresa Brazen, a certified Leadership + Executive Coach and host of The Inspirational Leader Series. I'm inspiring a new era of design leadership—one that's purpose-driven, influential, energizing, and meaningful.
