What A Team Expects From A Leader During Times Of Distress
We are more than 50 days in the lockdown, and each day has made us realize how damaging the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic could be. The situation has caught every business by surprise, and like everyone else we are doing whatever we can to continue progressing forward.
For me, the best way to do that was by making sure the building blocks of my organization i.e. my team members are being catered to. After all, the entire business exists because of them.
I am a firm believer in the philosophy that success is served to those who serve their teams. So, when I was thinking about catering to the distress my team would be going through, I couldn’t help but wonder
- What is the best action I can take at a time of uncertainty?
- What would my team expect their leader to do?
- What can I do to comfort them and aid them at a time like this?
While I certainly did not have answers to all these questions, what I did know was that I have to do it, because I would not be a leader running this business without my team. Thanks to the great rapport I have with my team, I was able to assess their needs during these times, and figure out what I had to accomplish.
So, it was time for some action. Here are some of the steps I took to ensure that my team remains in high spirits even during these times of lockdown and pandemic spread:
- I did a quick rundown to determine the most important equipment every team member will require while working from home. Thanks to the support of my admin staff, we were able to install the necessary gear at their home.
- The second thing I did was to set guidelines for work hours. Everything was clearly noted down and shared with all the team members in ProofHub so that no one had problems knowing when to work and how to stay connected with each other.
- As we were already using ProofHub to manage our tasks, timelines, and collaboration endeavors, it was pretty easy to switch to working from home.
Besides making sure that my team had all the resources, equipment and work related guidelines, I also knew that I needed to take a few important steps as a leader to help them fight distress. Here’s what I did:
- Made sure that I was reachable at all times; be it for communication related to work or something that’s bothering the team beyond that.
- Made it a point to communicate on a daily basis with all the teams so that no panic is set.
- Having frequent team-wide conversations to discuss things about work and everything that’s happening besides work
Since the interaction the team had was with each other during this time, I had to make sure that they made the most of it. Hence, it was always a priority to keep them connected and working like they would during regular office days.
A lot of things have changed during this COVID-19 spread. It has made me realize how vulnerable we are. One day everything is all fine, and the next day you can’t step out of your abode because the world has been infected with a deadly virus.
You cannot do much to ward off such dangers, but what you can do as a leader is to make sure that you make yourself available for your team to comfort them. And, that’s what I have tried to do during these times. The happy faces in my team assure me that I have been able to live up to their expectations.
What did you do to keep your team in high spirits during these times? Do share your thoughts.
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Author Bio:
Sandeep Kashyap is the Founder and CEO of ProofHub — a leading project management software. He’s one person always on a lookout for innovative ideas about filling the communication gap between groups, teams, and organisations. You’ll find him saying, “Let’s go!” instead of “Go!” many times a day. That’s what makes him write about leadership in a way people are inspired to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more. For more inspirational articles follow him on Linkedin.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
