A new wave of covid has hit Sydney and almost instantaneously we are thrown right back into the thick of it. This brings up so many mixed emotions and can leave your team feeling confused, scared, helpless.
It’s times like this when true leadership is revealed. It’s times like this when you either sink or swim and great leaders will inevitably become Olympic qualifying long-distance swimmers.
So, how do you lead your team through change, when it happens in the space of a few hours?
This is exactly what happened to us last week.
Wednesdays are our team day. Everyone is in the office, we’re all hustling and bustling, loud and energetic. The vibe is high! We’re having a great time. Then BAM. The Premier jumps on her 11am press conference and it’s all new restrictions and the threat of a lockdown (which inevitably happened). So how did we, the leaders in the business, handle it?
With:
- Efficiency: We needed to think on our feet, what impact would this have on our clients? What impact on us as a business? What impact on our team? What do we need to do by when?
- Swiftness: Once we had worked that through, we needed to move quickly. Team meeting, discuss the situation, agree on action, make the decision.
- Compassion: We knew that this was going to be really hard for some of the team that had booked leave and struggled to work from home. We took all of that in account with the final decisions and made sure that we reduced the impact as much as possible.
In a situation like this, quick decisions need to be made to address the health and safety of those working in the office. There were check-in conversations to make sure everyone was okay with the decisions and if they had any concerns to voice. We needed to show understanding, knowing that events like this can bring up a lot of emotions that we don’t have time to process. We also needed to show compassion for those who won’t be able to see loved ones that weekend.
A rapidly changing landscape is difficult enough to navigate on a personal level, however, it takes a real leader and leadership team to rally together, make swift and efficient decisions and to make sure everyone feels comfortable and safe with the decisions and the impact they bring.
We know that times like this can be difficult, but with a strong and supportive team, great leaders are able to make effective decisions that not only deal with the Black and White facts they are facing but also the impact they have, because as we know, life is lived in the Grey!
We hope you’re all safe and looking after yourself.
The Corporate Edge Team
