Lessons on Leading Through Tough Times (Fall 2022)

LESSONS ON LEADING THROUGH TOUGH TIMES

I have the unique privilege of having worked through three significant moments of economic downturn in three different professions.

My learnings as a leader in navigating tough times.

1. Be intentional about culture. Make the workplace a shelter in the storm
•Be intentional about the space you wish to create.

•For instance, if your team is one that is always on the cutting edge of company dynamics, cultivate a culture of learning. If you are finding teams to be siloed, mainstream essential tenets of inclusive behavior such as tidy meeting management (pre-reads, agendas, notes) and multi-faceted opportunities for contribution.

•While a good happy hour is fun and can be great for blowing off steam, focus on what you can build and cultivate with intention over time.

2. Empower and Recognize. Counter confusion with clear context + expectations
•Empower your team + those around you to support dot-connecting, reduce confusion, duplication of efforts, ultimately improving products and productivity.

•Often information becomes more silo’d, less is shared in writing, which can result in more meeting, increased speculation. Intentionally manage this by being forward about communications. You’ll have a more pleasant workplace.

•In tough times proactive communication often feels like swimming against the current. Keep swimming.

•Sometimes staying afloat itself is worthy of recognition. Paired with clear expectations + feedback, the bar for high performance stays high AND people feel valued.

3. Accountability. Build confidence by showing your work, including where things didn’t go as expected

•Walk your talk. If you are asking those around you to go the extra mile, show them that you are doing the same in your specific value-add.

•If something wasn’t accomplished, be vulnerable about it. No one is perfect, we all have learning edges and are working in unprecedented times.

•The more we share our work the more we can understand where individuals, teams, and initiatives are at. The more we can do this the more we can understand and solve common problems, counter misconceptions, and ultimately team better together.