By this point, most people have reached more or less the same conclusion. In the short run, Covid-19 isn\u2019t going anywhere and it\u2019s certainly not going to go away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Worse, even if the most optimistic vaccine projections are true, the simple truth is that the pandemic is almost certain to have long-lasting effects on how we live, work and interact with one another. That, in turn, is already having, and will continue to have a profound impact on managing that future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re a business owner or a department manager, you\u2019ve probably already run into this reality. Dealing with a global pandemic requires a very different sort of leadership, and a great many managers are struggling to make the transition. To be the leaders that this moment requires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early on, responding to the pandemic required classic crisis management skills. It was a high pressure situation. New infrastructure had to be put into place very quickly in order for businesses to continue to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of that though, has been accomplished by this point and now, as the situation has continued to evolve, a new and different kind of leadership and management is required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s been more than a hundred years since we\u2019ve seen anything even remotely like what we\u2019re living through now, and given that, there\u2019s no one alive today we can turn to for advice and guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately, such a conversation isn\u2019t necessary because there have been a great number of books on the subject written and updated over the years, so we have easy access to a wealth of collected knowledge at our fingertips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Toward the end of this piece, we\u2019ll make some recommendations of books you might find helpful, but more immediately, here are a few points you can put into practice right now, starting today, that will make your life, and the lives of your employees a bit easier during this difficult time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oddly enough, what\u2019s needed now more than anything else isn\u2019t bold, decisive, hard-nosed, uncompromising leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those are generally good traits, but they\u2019re the wrong traits for this moment in time, and for effectively managing through this crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reality is that most people are beginning to exhibit signs of chronic fatigue. The isolation is wearing on many. The feeling of profound disconnectedness and loneliness. There\u2019s also a chronic low level of background anxiety that eventually impacts your mental and physical health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those are the biggest drivers of the problems most managers are currently facing in the form of miscommunication and loss of productivity, and those aren\u2019t the kinds of problems that a hard-nosed approach will solve. If anything, that approach is likely to create as many issues as it resolves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the here and now, the best and most important gifts you can give to your employees are compassion and understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The people you\u2019re managing have seen their lives upended. They\u2019ve had to find new ways of working and they\u2019ve had to master the new paradigm quickly, while dealing with the absence of daycare for their children and quite possibly the added risks associated with caring for a loved one who has the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In short, your employees have a lot on their collective plates, and no matter how committed they might be to you and your company, you\u2019re not the priority right now. You can\u2019t be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That doesn\u2019t mean that your employees suddenly don\u2019t care about their work or the jobs they\u2019re doing for you, it simply means that there\u2019s a lot going on, and work life is only a small part of that. Managers who aren\u2019t very mindful of that fact run the risk of losing their best employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Compassion in a vacuum isn\u2019t enough. You\u2019ve got to take time to check in with every employee you have working for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChecking in\u201d doesn\u2019t mean asking after deadlines or getting status reports. It means asking about the kids. About sick friends and family members. It means taking the time to really connect with your employees and show you care about more than just the monthly report that\u2019s probably going to be a day or two late this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to showing compassion and humanity, regular check ins with your employees also provides a bit of badly needed connection that will go a surprisingly long way toward keeping those aforementioned feelings of loneliness and isolation at bay, and that\u2019s going to improve productivity once the people you manage have solved their own personal crises of the moment and sit back down to tackle the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to personally taking the time to check in with your employees, it\u2019s also important that you encourage them to lean on and support each other, and that you provide the tools that make such interactions possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This may be as simple as setting up a room in the chat program of your choice and encouraging your employees to meet there and communicate on a regular basis. Or it might involve setting up a Covid Support forum on your company\u2019s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The specific form that it takes doesn\u2019t matter nearly as much as the fact of its existence. The fact that you\u2019re seen as being a manager who\u2019s deeply committed to the well-being of your employees and taking active steps to ensure they\u2019re taken care of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These things represent the tip of the proverbial iceberg, but if you can do them, you\u2019ll be miles ahead of many other managers who are struggling mightily with the new realities brought on by the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you are a business owner and have managers working for you who may also be struggling, here are a few books we recommend investing in to give as gifts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leading Change, By John P. Kotter<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Widely recognized as Kotter\u2019s seminal work and praised by the Harvard Business Review, this important book outlines an easy to follow eight-step plan for managing change. Not to be missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n