At the onset of the pandemic, I observed several key leadership behaviors (or competencies) that seemed to be critical for leaders. So many felt as if they were in a maze, not sure of the direction to take, with many dead ends. As a result, we created a program called “Crisis Coaching and Communications” which focused on these behaviors, as well as ways to successfully practice them as a leader. We are now about 2 years into it, during which time I have coached over 50 leaders and executives in various roles and from various industries. As a result of these countless sessions, I have summarized below what I have found to be the main themes that have surfaced as critical leader behaviors.  

1. Empathy – my coaching methodology is grounded in Emotional Intelligence (EI or EQ), and at the center of this is Empathy. The short definition of this is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s situation. This has been particularly challenging because all employees, not just leaders, have had to deal with an enormous amount of change, ambiguity, and perhaps personal turmoil. At this point, COVID-19 has touched everyone either directly or indirectly. Whether it’s sickness, masks, vaccinations, tests – it seems to be part of our regular discourse. Great leaders have been able to put their own situation aside and help their team members through the distractions and stress. This is a skill that does not come easy for many leaders, and to me has been the most important behavior demonstrated by successful leaders. 

2. Composure – particularly important during the first “phase” of the pandemic, this refers to the ability to calm yourself and others during stressful situations by displaying a composed and positive demeanor. Managing your emotional expression and minimizing overt displays of frustration, anger, fear, or other negative emotions. And above all, instilling confidence in others during stressful situations. Great leaders not only have, but demonstrate, courage – particularly during the most difficult times.

3. Courage – this shows up in many leadership competency sets for good reason. The ability to act decisively when critical situations arise, and take control of such situations without fear – all while modeling calm and focused behavior in the face of uncertainty. So much of the past two years has been uncertain – what should I work on? from where? what is the priority? – despite how they feel personally, great leaders have had the courage to make critical decisions when needed. Were they always right? Maybe not, but that is part of the journey.

4. Adaptability/ Resilience – everything has changed, right?…maybe, maybe not. Demonstrated as showing agility in the face of challenges or ambiguity to quickly and effectively bounce back from setbacks and get to a “new normal” (has that phrase phased out yet?). As a leader, you must be able to adapt quickly to, and embrace, the changing landscape. It’s fair to say that not all leaders adapted successfully. 

5. Inspirational Communications – positive, consistent, and forward-looking messaging. Keeping a two-way open channel to staff. And exhibiting judicious transparency throughout. So much of employee frustration during times of uncertainty comes from not knowing – which leads to “making up the rest of the story” – something workforces are prone to do! The leaders that rose above were clear, consistent, and transparent with what they knew AND what they did not (or were not able to say). 

6. Resource Optimization and Prioritization – optimizing resources (not just people) in new and different ways, particularly when limited, and then properly prioritize the work and the staff, oftentimes under duress, has been part of leaders’ routine since the pandemic began. Managing shifting or overlapping timelines and competing demands, weighing the needs of different stakeholders, and ultimately deciding on the issues according to the needs of the business have been challenges that the truly great leaders have risen to meet.

Learning community, are these topics in your leader curriculum?

PUBLISHED BY

John LaBianca

Human Capital Consulting and Executive Coaching, CHRO