Leadership In A Crisis
Coronavirus has caused a worldwide pandemic which at its peak brought businesses to a halt and stopped companies from running. This affected most companies if not all, some lost team members, some became bankrupt, and some lost huge deals with major clients. Regulations were put in place that allowed companies to reopen and run even in the presence of coronavirus. Now strong leadership is required to raise a company from the pitfall to the point it was initially before corona and lead it to further success.
What is Leadership?
The question people never ask themselves, but probably do not know the answer to is, What is leadership? Leadership is influence. A leader leads from the front, and people follow your footsteps and guidance. You do not lead from the back carrying a weep forcing people to move in a way you never paved. To be an effective leader, understand the group you are leading, be part of the group and value each member as important to the success of the company. In a crisis, your leadership should go an extra mile, manage the crisis, manage the effects of the crisis, and for a prolonged crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, come up with a strategy to be ahead of the crisis.
A business crisis is an incident that has the ability to destroy the success of a company by damaging its reputation, its business operations, negatively affecting its finances, or harming its employees. It occurs when an unexpected problem puts the stability of a company or organization at risk. COVID-19 is life a threatening crisis that threatens both the employees and customers, it is hard to run a business when everyone is in constant fear and trauma. As a leader you must be strong and courageous and be able to influence the same qualities to your team and customers, they are supposed to feel safe and confident. Adhere to the rules and regulations that help preserve their lives but go an extra mile and come up with a strategy that will give both your customers assurance, confidence, and a reason to believe beyond the crisis
There are different types of crisis that can affect a business, covid-19 a world pandemic is just one of them, therefore a company must anticipate these crises in advance and prepare a management plan and strategy for all possible types of crisis you may think of as they are inevitable. A company should have a Pre-Crisis plan in place to help prevent crisis in the future. One should have a Crisis Management and Response team to govern your company during the crisis to ensure proper communication and proper handling of the problem. Most importantly a company must have a Post-Crisis plan, this will ensure the stability of the company after a crisis, help it recover, and lead to further success.
Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness. As a leader it is your duty to see the light, see opportunities, there is always something good in every situation, see the advantages and employ them to grow. Learn the lesson and teach it to your group, give them hope and enthusiasm. In a crisis it is important to priorities the relationship between your company and customers, give them the information they need, listen to what they have to say, and minister to their needs in a way that is more convenient to your company. For instance, during the covid-19 pandemic people are losing friends, family, and colleagues, they are wounded emotionally therefore as a leader you must find a way to relate and minister to those needs in line with your business.
Be a flexible leader, adapt to change fast and effectively so that those you lead can do the same. Some companies have allowed their employees to work from home as a way to prevent the spread of covid-19 and preserve lives, as a leader you must be able to evaluate the solutions being implemented by other companies and see if they work for your company and team in particular, if not customize it or come up with an alternative, never ignore possible dangers and possible solutions. A crisis always occurs and can occur in different forms and therefore for every crisis sit down with your team, let everyone contribute, hear their complaints, problems, and their suggestions. Gather as much information as you can get and use it as building blocks for idea generation and strategy construction. It is as important to value the opinion of your team members when you are a leader because there are the people who are there to help you build your business, be there for them.
Lead with a mindset of changing your followers for the better, a good leader is a teacher, let your followers learn from you to become better than you. Take to watch and observe their weaknesses and strengths, commend and appreciate their strengths, sharpen their skills and give them the opportunity to shine. Address their weaknesses in the most convenient way possible, to maintain good relations and bring about change. Be a servant leader, serve the people you lead.
Dealing with stress and anxiety is as important when you are a leader. As a Leader, you are vulnerable to both because you experience extreme conditions and sometimes are pushed to your breaking point, especially during a crisis. Therefore, be true to yourself have a strategy in place that will help prevent and manage such situations. However, do not make any long-term decisions during a crisis, for you will be under pressure. Implement temporary measures and give yourself time to reflect.
