As the current health crisis news continues to change and evolve every day, we will do two things:
- Ask for direction from the decision-makers around us that we trust.
- Reflect on our own ability to make tough decisions in difficult times.
During a crisis, we all want to make smart decisions that are in the best interest for ourselves and the people around us.
This week, I’m sharing five articles to help you show up in times of crisis with a level head.
1. Ask yourself how you want to show up.
To understand how you want to show up, reflect on your reputation, your values and your capabilities. From there, craft your communication style. This article from Inc. provides great tips including, 1) be your authentic self, 2) tell it like it is, and 3) communicate respectfully.
2. Don’t hide bad news in times of crisis.
This article from Harvard Business Review makes a great point, “Be clear what you know, what you don’t know and what you’re doing to learn more.” Choosing transparency is your best bet, even if you’re sharing that you don’t know anything yet.
3. Seven critical steps to crisis management.
As a business owner, you have an obligation to understand how a crisis would impact your employees, vendors, clients and the community at large. This outline from Inc. provides great information on how to address questions that come at you rapidly.
4. 15 ways to keep in touch with everyone.
This article from Forbes outlines 15 ways to keep in touch with employees. It’s even more relevant now that many of us are facing remote-work policies. As a contributor for this article, my advice focuses on building trust with employees who may feel untethered in times of change. Build trust and maintain mutual respect. It may be hard, but it goes a long way.
5. Best practices for managing remote employees.
While this article from BambooHR talks about established remote-work policy and environments, there is still some good advice about how to handle uncertainty while implementing remote-work directives.Two important tips here include, 1) be responsive and available, and 2) hold regular check-ins.
I understand that we’re getting many messages and communications these days with updates that have disrupted our lives, or will very soon. If my blog post does anything this week, I hope it gives you some insights on how to stay calm and act with reason and forethought. That’s not easy, so forgive yourself often and keep trying.
Christina Holloway is an executive coach and business coach. She helps executives and entrepreneurs grow their companies faster, create results-driven teams, and increase profitability. She has been featured in Forbes, The Huffington Post, Addicted2Success and Fast Company. If you’re interested in working with Christina, take a look at her strategy sessions and contact her to get started.
