Charting a Course in Troubled Times

Image by Jordan Ladikos

Stories of disaster seem to hound us every day. They wake us up in the morning. They follow us on our commutes. They keep us awake at night. It’s hard to be a leader when the world around you is in turmoil, but it’s at times like these that strong leadership is crucial.

As a leader, your challenge is twofold: Not only do you have to cope with your personal concerns, you have to consider those of the people you lead. While work can sometimes be a refuge from social and political upheaval, there are times when it’s important to address what’s happening around you and how it might be affecting your team.

But should you jump into the fray and publicize your beliefs, or should you just let it be? Business leaders who make political statements run the risk of alienating their own employees and stakeholders (just ask Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank) while silence can be interpreted as complicity. Even as the leader of a smaller team, it’s hard to know how people will react to the hot-button issues of the day. When there is so much at stake, how do you, as a leader, navigate in times of trouble?

There are no easy answers, but there are some ways you can chart a clearer course for your team.

Seek and create clarity.

Find clarity on what you and your company believe, what you stand for, and where your values lie. Clarifying your guiding principles will help you cut through the confusion that comes with social and political upheaval. Communicate this to your team to help them make sense of the moment.

In the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential victory in November 2016, SYPartners’ founder and chairman Keith Yamashita wrestled with the implications of this election. He wrote a note to the company, which he later shared publicly, offering a personal story to illustrate the values he intended to uphold. Written with vulnerability and compassion, his words created a sense of shared experience and understanding throughout the company.

Howard Schultz took a similar approach as CEO of Starbucks in January, making clear that changing legislation would not affect how the company supported its employees, and establishing a plan for living by its values in the face of uncertainty.

Learn by listening.

If you aren’t sure where you stand on an issue that keeps coming up, learn more about it. Do some in-depth research, talk to people who know more than you do (on both sides of the issue), and check what you learn against your values and beliefs to figure out how they align.

In some cases, it might make sense to establish a forum for dialogue and invite your team to share their views, concerns, and questions. This could take many forms, from a town hall meeting to a dedicated Slack channel — the important thing being that you create a safe and productive environment for conversation. It means emphasizing that diverse opinions are welcome and that mutual respect is non-negotiable (moderate accordingly).

Encouraging discussion sounds straightforward enough, but it can be tricky to strike a balance. Dealing with the recent fallout from an employee’s controversial memo and termination, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai made the last-minute decision to cancel a company-wide meeting due to concerns that participants could face online harassment for expressing their views. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution or strategy for such fraught situations, but there is an approach that works: Put your people first, be attentive to what’s going on, and you’ll have a better shot at make the decisions that are right for them.

Shift the focus to action.

Powerlessness can be insidious. The more we dwell on the bad news, the less agency we feel in our work and on a broader scale. In these situations, your team may need you to help make sense of their role in the larger scheme of things. Tom Andrews, president of the organizational transformation practice at SYPartners, suggests channeling your team’s “energy into something they can do that is consistent with the business’ purpose and operations.”

Again, approaches can vary depending on the situation and your team, whether it’s organized activism, jump-starting relevant projects or rituals around the office, or simple commitments to keep learning and maintaining a dialogue. The crucial point is this: Instead of being paralyzed by fear or trying to respond to a complex issue in 140 characters, look for ways to take positive action.

Take care of yourself and your people.

“Self care” gets a lot of press these days, and for good reason. It’s both important and strategic to be attentive to your physical and mental needs if you’re going to perform your best as a leader and a human being.

But in troubled times it’s also important for leaders to put a little extra energy into checking in on the people around them. Look at the people on your team who may not always command attention. Think of ways to show appreciation for every size of contribution. Make time for the one-on-one conversations that will give each person an opportunity to tell you how they’re really feeling.

All leaders struggle to make the best decisions for their teams in moments of fragility and turmoil. But take stock of your organization’s values as well as your own, consider what your people are experiencing, and you’ll be well equipped to move forward responsibly. It will be a challenge, but it will also be an opportunity to bring renewed clarity, attentiveness, and compassion to your team.

This article was originally published on Leadfully.com