Achieved Strategies

I spent Father’s Day with my dad in the hospital.  Unfortunately, he was the one we had to take to the ER.  In these situations my role is to ensure my dad’s care meets his needs and to ensure each nurse knows what’s going on.  My step-mom’s role is to tend to my dad’s immediate needs and to be by his side.

So when it came time to write my blog post, I had a hard time focusing on leadership.  While journaling I started to see parallels to the roles each person in my family plays when there is a crises to leadership during a team crisis.

At the heart of crisis can be love.  Even at work.  It’s an awkward topic that we don’t like in a professional setting.  The love I’m referring to is the compassion in our actions to help others when crisis settles in on a team.

In looking at my family situation and my work, these are the parallels I saw that apply to leadership during a team crisis.

Selfless time given. When a team goes through crisis, it’s up to the leader to show the way by giving his time selflessly to ensure other’s needs are met.  This sets the tone for everyone affected by the crisis

Vigilance. The team’s leadership pays close attention to what’s going on that requires immediate action.  Stamina is essential during crisis. Spend time only on those decisions that give insight and understanding to help the team move closer to ending the crisis.  Vigilance also requires knowing what you need to let pass and deal with later.

Reliance on others. Crisis can splinter a team.  The degree of ambiguity can overwhelm leaders if clear roles and boundaries aren’t established.  If love can be at the heart of crisis, then it’s a natural outcome to turn to those who can support the team.  And this means opening up to let other business areas help.  Let the crisis bring you together. Don’t let silos, turf wars hold help at bay.  Your people suffer, including customers

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Ensure people know what’s going on. When there are nurse shift changes, I make sure they know what’s going on with my dad, what he needs.  This is so relevant during a team crisis.  Make sure that when new people coming on board to help, make sure they are briefed.  It helps get the support most needed.

Make roles clear. All people respond differently to crisis.  Some snap into a crystalline focus.  Others get befuddled. And many are somewhere in between. It’s a compassionate act to make sure people are clear on what role they play, who’s playing each role, and the scope of responsibilities and decision making authority.  The clarity in roles during a crisis helps unite a team.  Everyone knows on whom they can rely on and trust deepens.

Intervene quickly, however, when there’s a breakdown in the understanding of roles. Be vigilant on this. You need a strong team who can stay focused on living through the crisis.

Get rest. This may very well be the most important item in this list. A rested mind is more useful in stressful situations.  Solutions are more likely to be stronger. Emotions are managed more effectively.  This is vital to the relationships that need to be strong during times of crisis.

Main photo courtesy of zhornik