Leading amid a crisis is the ultimate test of a business owner’s capacity to lead. The situation’s tensions will generate a slew of volatile factors. You will need to adjust quickly. This makes it tough to discern the immediate priorities. Employee emotions may contribute to an unstable environment. You will want to provide them with more attention and guidance. You may even observe that they are taking opposite stances. You will be pushed to the ultimate test during a crisis. This will be more tough than any other situation you will likely face.
To be successful, you must have a variety of high-quality talents and abilities. The following skill sets will help you navigate through difficult situations.
The ability to make decisions as a leader
Everything may happen quickly at first. This leaves little convenience for thorough review or consultation with others. Time then becomes an important variable. Any indecision may paralyze activity. This can result in a lack of confidence. To be a successful leader, you must make intelligent judgments fast and as frequently as necessary. It is preferable to make an ill-informed judgment, if necessary, at the time. Correct it later when you have more knowledge. That is why it is critical to rapidly establish your leadership team and essential personnel. Then you may get as much information as possible and rapidly weigh your alternatives. Simple acts may be among such alternatives. Act promptly, wait, or postpone a little longer while you get the required knowledge.
Resilience is a leadership skill
Businesses and governments are not naturally structured to deal with crises. In reality, the company structure may be impeding reaction and recovery. As a result, the capacity to be adaptable and flexible is crucial for success. The higher the team’s capacity to adjust without causing harm or loss, the better. If you don’t have access to your usual leadership team, form a new one and put it together. In a crisis, some people are willing to advance to a higher level. If someone is displaying indications of discomfort and overload, remove them from the team. Otherwise, you will become distracted. Instead, then focusing on leadership, they waste significant time and effort regulating their emotions.
The simplicity used as a leadership skill
Simplicity as a leadership ability appears overly simplistic. In a crisis, any elaborate action plan will be forgotten and screwed up. In a crisis, simplicity is the key; it always triumphs. The more convoluted a leader makes the solution, the less likely the outcome will be successful. Remember that people become stressed. Followers must understand that the following step is easy to complete. It must be something simple that they can do and consider a success. To overcome the hurdles that lie ahead, a string of achievements must happen. This will help to establish rapport and maintain momentum.
Timing is a leadership skill.
Once you have the short-term vision, give it to your team. Let them know what first part of the strategy is and their role. Make it easy and have them carry it out. Then reassemble to continue with the strategy. If you do not implement the crisis approach in stages, your staff may (and almost certainly will) get overwhelmed. This results in difficulties and failure.
Remember that proper pacing of the steps to accomplishment will reduce the number of new problems. This will offer you a higher chance of success.
In our final blog in this series part 5, The ideal leadership styles for a crisis scenario, (insert link), we will discover what you will need to know to pick the right leadership style for the crisis you are facing.