Leading a team or a company is not easy, even less in times of crisis. It is in those situations where the north no longer seems to be in the same place as always and where we no longer know if the designed strategies will work. But it is also in difficult times when those who exercise leadership must play their role even better. Why? Because strong and confident leadership will be basic to the survival of the company. Do you want to know what are the keys to leading in times of crisis and getting out of the storm? Read more…
What leadership in times of crisis entails. Key to overcoming the challenge
Talking about leadership is always talking about challenges, even more in times of crisis. However, in scenarios like this in which everything is doubt and uncertainty, the skills and attitudes that managers have do not seem to be enough to bring the company to fruition. Therefore, to add and not subtract in difficult situations we can and must have these keys:
1 Define action plans
Managing and leading the team well in times of crisis means having the great ability to channel employees’ capabilities. The aim is to generate solutions to the challenges that are presented to the company. If senior managers provide the tools to manage a crisis and also define the action plans to follow, the rest of the team will know where to direct the efforts.
To do this, managers must translate the tasks and functions of the team into an organization chart. Since this is an exceptional situation, they don’t have to be the same as always.
2 Anticipating the events
Anticipating the events ahead is another key to leading in times of crisis. How? You’ll wonder. It is simply a question of being informed of everything that is happening and having the training to succeed when situations so require.
3 Proactive attitude, dialogue and motivation
Listening very carefully to the information that comes from the environment and also the information that the team gives us. It is then that we can say that a leader with great skills knows how to pay attention to the team and take into account their ideas and suggestions.
A proactive and positive attitude means dedicating strategies to motivation and betting on enthusiasm. Things as simple as congratulating workers on their work or holding meetings first thing in the day to learn their opinion, are of great help in improving the working climate.
4 Personal leadership is critical
Every setback has a meaning, nothing better than finding it through personal leadership and for it.
- Review and reinforce personal values.
- Emphasize communication ability.
- Maintain a positive and flexible attitude to change.
- Delegate responsibilities.
- Properly manage your time as well as your team’s.
- Commitment, coordination and intuition.
Good leaders have enough ability to deal with adversity. And they come out of it stronger than they were before.
5 Define common goals
The leader must decide where we are going; the goals, whether they have changed or else, need to be set in a specific, measurable and accessible way. In addition, they must be aimed at achieving results that lead the company to emerge from the situation.
6 Developing empathy
Developing empathy also means knowing how to lead in times of crisis. Understand the team, communicate, value and accept the opinions of others. Crisis situations are not easy for anyone. On a personal level they make us feel nervous and unsafe. Therefore, the manager has to maintain his legitimate connection with the employees, or in other words, he must try to put himself in the shoes of the employees to try to understand their vision.
At IBMH we know that running a company in times of crisis or simply uncertainty, such as those currently being lived, requires a lot of effort and dedication. And without the right partners, everything is much more complicated. That’s why we propose you to work together to achieve a common goal: to improve the profitability of your furniture and construction hardware purchases, in China.
Contact us and we will tell you all the details about our Strategic Sourcing and Quality Control service for your purchases in China.
