Dealing with a crisis – Focusing on the Business

In my last two posts, I wrote about how we, as leaders, when dealing with a crisis, can focus on ourselves and our team. In a crisis, leaders have a larger role to play in the context of their organization, their clients and their industry. Leaders will attend to the present, first and foremost; when time permits, they will use the lessons learned from the current crisis to strengthen the organization for the future. Here are a few things we can do, keeping our business in focus:

• Stay informed. As a leader, you will need to know what is happening both within as well as outside your company’s walls. Know what can be done with online tools and what can’t. Seek frequent inputs “from the field” on what’s working and what isn’t. Allow your responses to the crisis to evolve with the new information you learn. Ensure that you have a reasonably efficient and reliable channel of receiving updates from the government and other regulatory bodies whose decisions affect your operations. Find out if the government’s definition of “essential goods” applies to your company’s products & services during the lock-down period.
• Talk to your clients. No matter how senior you are in your company, this is the time for you to talk to your company’s clients and assure them of your continued support. Hearing from you will mean a lot to your clients and it will make your relationship with them stronger. Picking up the phone and calling your clients has an additional advantage: with strong listening skills and empathy, you will likely learn about what they need in this difficult time that no one else is thinking about. Being upfront with your clients about how the crisis has affected your capabilities can help your clients cope and plan better – it will earn you points for transparency and integrity.
• Talk to your lawyers. Since the lock-down can pose serious challenges to your company in meeting its contractual obligations and Service Level Agreements (SLAs), find out whether COVID-19 can be classified as a Force Majeure, an “Act of God” event that can entitle you to excuse / delay / suspend / cancel the performance of certain contractual obligations. If this is applicable to you, you should inform your clients with tact and empathy, and without delay.
• Talk to your vendors. Your suppliers and vendors will experience many of the same difficulties and challenges as you. Staying in touch with them will help you understand the impact of the crisis on them and what you need to do in response. Talking to them will help cement the relationship further and they will not forget your thoughtfulness.
• Be emotionally resilient. A crisis is, by definition, when many things can go wrong: your team members may fumble, your clients may scale back their engagement with you and you may have to let people go. Expecting such setbacks and preparing mentally for them will allow you to manage your emotional state better and make better decisions.
• Use lessons learned. Leaders who think long-term will want to improve their company’s ability to respond to a crisis, mitigate its impact and provide business continuity to their own operations as well as those of their clients. Asking what could have been done to be better prepared will help in planning for future crises.
• Hit a pause or even a reset. This crisis may be an opportunity to redefine your outfit’s mission and strategy. New products and services may come from this experience and a fresh look at what the market really needs can take your company in new directions, given its strengths and capabilities.

It is apparent that real leaders are needed in a crisis. Being grounded, resilient, empathetic and alert all at once are tough even in normal times; in a crisis, they are that much harder. Leaders will never welcome a crisis but when faced with one, they serve as beacons and help the rest of us cope with a difficult today and an uncertain tomorrow.