Leading in the Dark

In her article, In Times of Anxiety, Lead With ‘We’ and ‘Us’, Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio observes," "The recent 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer survey found that employees in 10 countries see their employers as more trusted, reliable, and credible channels of information during the COVID-19 crisis than traditional media or government sources. This invaluable trust could easily be squandered through uninformed decision-making.”

This is an important point, and my experience building one of the country’s largest plastic bottle manufacturing companies tells me she’s right on the button.

I think one of the reasons for this is that employees know their employers (at the very least, their managers) personally, and they all come to the same place every day to accomplish a shared goal. They’re in it together.

Because of my role as the leader of a large company, and my public work addressing overwhelming anxiety and agoraphobia, I’ve been asked a lot about how I’m handling COVID-19 in the workplace. As a leader, it’s tricky.

Dr. Cecchi-Dimeglio notes that “the employees wanted to be provided with the right information in a helpful way by the right person as well as what the company is going to do to help.” Any good leader will want to help their employees who are hungry for good information.

I’d be foolish to think I know more than the CDC about infectious diseases, so I feel some hesitancy in deciding how to answer these kinds of questions. On the other hand, as a leader I’ve been through many difficult situations that I had no control over: oil embargoes that made it nearly impossible to manufacture plastics; trucking strikes; natural disasters.

These situations demanded a mix of instinct and common sense. And with years of practice fighting fear of the unknown, I at least had some training to handle the emotions of these situations.

In some ways, the factual information is the easy part, and the best approach is to be honest about what you know, what you don’t and what information you’re going to use to shape decisions. This last factor reassures employees that you’re still listening–to them, to the experts, and to the requirements of your business. You can echo expert guidance (and be sure your employees see you doing it): wash hands, mask up, keep six feet apart, stay home whenever possible. But the emotional support work is harder, and there are some strategies that I’ve found effective to help people through scary times.

First, remember that anxiety lives in the future. As long as you’ve been quick about removing anyone with symptoms from the workplace, you can reassure people that those around them are healthy, and that confers a measure of safety.

Second, focus on the bonds that bring people together. Remind them of the ways your work is meaningful and helpful to other people.

And lastly, make time to listen. This is a time where the smartest long-term move may well be to let productivity targets slip a bit to make time for more interpersonal support.

These are just a few basic approaches. For more detailed guidance, be sure to read Dr. Cecchi-Dimeglio’s article, which has excellent data-supported resources to help leaders guide their teams through this difficult time.

Be well,

–Brian