“How companies respond will define their brand for decades.” — Mark Cuban

Whether responding to an international, national, local, or company-specific crisis, positive influence role models are a powerful force for showing us how to do things “the right way.” They provide an example from which we can learn how to be successful. 

You may choose to emulate a person you admire closely; however, you can also benefit by extracting certain traits and integrating them with your unique style. To be a positive influence role model, follow these five actions

1. Be Open and Authentic

At the outset of a crisis, you don’t want either your customers or your employees to worry, and there may be a tendency to minimize or sugarcoat the truth. It’s also possible that you don’t have complete information. However, the worse thing you can do is deny, deceive or deflect — this opens the door for rumors and distractions.  

Be honest and say something like, “this is what we know as of this moment, but the situation is fluid, and things may change. However, as soon as I know, you will know.”  

The textbook case of how to handle a corporate crisis is the 1982 Tylenol tampering episode in which seven people died in Illinois after taking the pain-killer. Johnson & Johnson, the maker of Tylenol, relied on their corporate credo that clearly states, “our first responsibility is to our patients, doctors, and nurses, to mothers and fathers and all others who use our products and services.” 

As a result, they quickly took responsibility by withdrawing the product from the market, halting further production, and offering to refund or exchange the capsules for solid tablets. Later it was found that some of the product was poisoned after it reached Chicago and then sold to unsuspecting customers. In the end, J&J, and specifically CEO James Burke, was applauded for their quick and candid response to the crisis. As a result, Tylenol ultimately regained most of its previous market share.

Transparency builds trust and loyalty. Trust is the cornerstone of authenticity, a hallmark of the decisive influence role model leader. People — both employees and customers — will follow you if they see you as the real deal.

2. Be Clear and Specific   

In the current corona crisis, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has become familiar to millions of Americans and is universally seen as a calm and constant voice of reason. Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has been involved in every epidemic in the past 40 years, including HIV/AIDS and Ebola. However, he can clearly explain complex scientific and arcane medical issues and make them easily understood by the general public that has made him a great example of a positive influence role model leader.  

Colleagues and employees are listening carefully to what you say and how you say it. Avoid minimizing a situation or being overly optimistic. Speak your truth clearly and precisely. As Mark Twain once said, “tell the truth, and you never have to remember anything.”

3. Listen, Ask Questions, Listen Some More, and Respond

In a crisis (and during regular times, as well) positive influence role models are open and accessible to their team — and they listen. They listen to people’s concerns, both technical and emotional.  

Companies are holding regular all-hands videoconference meetings where employees can ask questions and discuss their concerns about how to balance work-family issues during the crisis. A few organizations are also ending the week with a virtual happy hour where team members can share lighthearted stories about their work-at-home experiences.  

Who listens also learn ideas from employees on how to work smarter and create work processes that increase efficiency and effectiveness. When leaders are open, and accessible employees eagerly provide insights into both the degree and elements of customer satisfaction. 

Most effective positive influence role models not only listen, but they respond with plans to implement these ideas. As a result, companies with a culture of positive influence role models typically emerge from a crisis in a much stronger position.   

4. Walk the Talk  

Models or, more specifically, the most successful positive influence role models are well aware that people are watching. In this context, it is axiomatic that if, for example, you want members of your team to provide extraordinary customer service during a crisis (and beyond), then all of your customer interactions must meet or exceed that same elevated standard. 

At the top of the house can set the standard by being a role model who walks the talk. Such was the more recent case of Kevin Johnson, Starbucks CEO when he found the company in the eye of a negative storm because two African American men were arrested in one of their shops in Philadelphia for no apparent reason. Relying on the company’s top corporate value of “creating a culture of warmth and belonging where everyone is welcome,” Johnson quickly apologized to the men and the nation. Within a week, Starbucks announced that it would close all its 8,000 stores for an afternoon to provide staff training on implicit bias and ways of ensuring that everyone feels safe and welcome in their stores. 

Statements look good framed and hung in corporate conference rooms, but they only come alive when customers and employees see you “live those values” through your actions. In other words — when you walk the talk.  

5. Conduct an After-Action Review

When the crisis is over, there is a strong tendency to quickly get back to business as usual or the way things were before the crisis. However, the most effective positive influence leaders take some time to review and learn from the experience. You can call it an evaluation session, an assessment, or a more formal after-action review. The simple facts are:

• There may be another crisis in the future, and you’d like to learn how to handle it better.
• It’s entirely possible that things have changed as a result of the crisis, and it is not possible to return to business as usual. For example, some customers are no longer able or willing to buy a product or service.

You may have done some new things during the crisis that you now want to integrate into regular business operations going forward. For example, you find that video conferencing works well for many meetings and, therefore, you will reduce or eliminate a large number of face-to-face meetings. You may use a different language, but most project reviews focus on:

• What was our goal(s)?
• What happened/What did we do?
• What worked? Why?
• What didn’t work? Why?
• What should we do differently next time?

In times of crisis, the decisive role model leader can be a powerful force that encourages you to think outside of the box and not limit your options to the conventional ways of doing things. During this period, they are open, honest, transparent, and specific. They do not sugarcoat the harsh realities of the situation, but they also create a participatory process that includes lots of questions and an equal amount of listening. 

Perhaps most important, they “walk the talk” and thus ensure their actions are always consistent with their words. 

www.thepositiveinfluenceleader.com

Post-COVID-19, the work culture and the employee experience that we know is going to change, and change permanently. But how exactly? What are the likely shifts, and how can we prepare for them?

I work at WONGDOODY, a human experience company, and a creative firm focused on design thinking. As a managing director, I spend a lot of time (at my dining-room table in my NYC apartment) helping our big enterprise clients navigate this issue, and am already seeing some practical ways to build for the future. For now, bank as much employee confidence and connection as you can.

Since the end of the crisis is still beyond the horizon, we need to shore up the foundations of our organizations in preparation for what is next. A recent Real Leaders magazine survey of 66 C-suite executives emphasized that maintaining employee confidence and connection is foundational. All agreed on three tenets to focus on while we weather the storm:

1. First, be human. Over-communicate
2. Be as transparent as possible
3. start planning and building the next normal

Work will come back online, and things will be different. After 9/11, we all had to adjust to a new level of business-travel paranoia and intrusive security, but it was the social trade-off for feeling relatively safe. This crisis will be no different. The post-COVID-19 work world will have new worries and new rules. Here’s how to prepare.

Expand the digital workspace: Suddenly, telling the globe to work from home (WFH) has been both daunting and illuminating. From Zoom’s lack of encryption to striking gaps in household online network access, employees have struggled to support corporate digital standards. Consider that post-crisis, the idea that the corporate fortress is the only place to work will become outdated. Companies will have to design, build, and finance more permanent and flexible systems that extend to people’s homes and can support enterprise needs. Companies without WFH options will be considered less stable and less appealing to employees because if there are any issues that prevent working on-site, the jobs at those organizations will be in jeopardy.

Also, companies will need to upgrade employee portals to be more user-friendly and synthesized, along with cultivating the ability to combine remote and on-campus experiences. Collaborative whiteboarding tools and visual team environments have to become familiar and practiced because gathering in person will be more difficult.

We are already familiar with BYOD (bring your own device) policies where we use our mobile phones at work for calls and emails. Now we will probably see companies move in the opposite direction, expecting workers to re-create work-level digital environments at home as part of business-continuity policies. There will be mandatory laptops for everyone, including support staff who usually have desktops, along with business-level internet accounts for remote WFH.

Expand your employee’s potential value: Both for them and you. It’s shocking how quickly unemployment rocketed in the U.S. Post-crisis, employees will be loyal to companies that have strong worker-retention programs that keep them sharp and valuable.

Consider that there are several active and relatively low-cost learning platforms that, depending on the curriculum, can allow you to keep a more diverse and up-to-date talent base. Expansion of digital work skills should become a priority.

When employees return, expect them to want to understand how they can be less exposed and more resilient work-wise. Giving employees a path to different futures and more in-demand roles will help you and them build a more reliable company.

Establish digital health services: The COVID-19 crisis has underlined that health is essential to an effective remote workforce. Post-crisis, you should expect that things won’t bounce back to normal and that employees will be looking to get support through the recovery. If your company doesn’t have it already, look to telemedicine services as a new normal for both physical and mental health. Again, engage employees now to see what services are relevant to them versus what might sound beneficial.

Digitize company culture: A lot of what defines work is what we experience as a group of people together in one space, one context. But without that context, what is the company culture? Post-crisis companies will need to find new tools and virtual spaces to build on the habits that they’ve started with Zoom standups and happy hours.

Let’s start the recovery now. Seize this time to survey your teams to see which virtual engagements, tools, habits, and communications have been the most meaningful to your teams, and effectively support your employer brand. Ferret out all the aspects of friction that got in peoples’ way, whether it was unintended design issues, volume issues, or people issues. Look for workarounds and shortcuts that can create a smoother flow. How can they be redesigned to be that way permanently?

The most important part is to involve all levels of the workplace now in rethinking and redesigning how work could or should work when everyone slowly comes back online in the workspace. Giving people active roles in designing the future puts their heads in a constructive and committed space. It can help you weather this challenging time and reposition your business for success.

Regardless of political persuasion, we can all agree that over the last month, the U.S. has witnessed an epic failure of leadership across virtually every level, function, and branch of government. Last Saturday, I read a New York Times article that discussed how technical errors, bureaucracy, and leadership failures resulted in lost time and lives. As an experienced management consultant and executive coach, I felt like I was reading a report, we might have written describing a dysfunctional organization and leadership team. 

If this were a corporation, it would have faced intense scrutiny, and we would be discussing what went wrong and how to avoid such mistakes going forward. We would ask, “How did this organization fail so spectacularly, both at planning for the current crisis and in executing a responsive strategy decisively and successfully?” Inevitably, the answers would have pointed squarely at the business leaders themselves. 

Today, the failure is at the hands of government officials and policymakers. But the questions and answers should be the same. The leaders of our various institutions failed us. And they did so because they are not held (and do not hold themselves) to the same standards of leadership as our most effectively-led corporate organizations. Nor do they practice leadership as a discipline or view it as something that needs to be continuously studied, understood, and developed – regardless of seniority or experience. 

While I do not know whether any of these leaders were being coached or had the support of outside experts on organization and strategy, what is shockingly clear to me is that their mistakes were mostly avoidable. Going forward, preventing a crisis like this will require significant shifts in how government leaders view the role of leadership, what the public demands of those leaders, and how open officials are to accepting that leadership is an ongoing practice and one that requires outside support in both times of crisis and opportunity.

One of the great truths revealed here is that no one – no matter how experienced – can just operate out of what they “already know” in the world in which we live. This truth manifested catastrophically with the current COVID-19 crisis, where our leaders were unable to identify strategies, communicate them, or build consensus – and that largely resulted from those leaders being stuck in patterned and inappropriate ways of thinking. In corporate America, leaders must continuously challenge their patterns or risk going out of business. When government leaders fail to do this, lives are lost.

When we work with and coach executives and their teams, this is where we focus. The types of questions we ask and explore are: What is your default style under pressure, and where might that serve you or undermine you? How can you communicate with people who have different personalities and orientations? Where are you naturally blind, and therefore where should you naturally seek additional data? How do you communicate effectively with people who see the world differently and who you don’t have direct authority over? How do you develop communications that are clear, concise, and compelling so that you can enroll people in it? 

These are the questions that a good executive coach asks his or her clients to support leaders in growing and evolving so they can be effective. And it is incredibly apparent that these questions were not being systematically asked and answered by the government leaders we rely on. If they had – there would have been a clearer and better set of solutions much earlier. If we are to avoid crises like this in the future, corporate and government leaders must remain aware of these simple truths: 

1. Leadership is a practice, not a position

Regardless of how much experience one has or how senior one is, leadership is a craft and a practice. Just like the most successful professional athletes are coached and study the art of the game, senior leaders need to continue to work on their skills, competencies, and orientations. Even Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks never stop practicing and learning new techniques – and the same should be true for senior leaders. Amazingly, at a news conference Alex Azar, head of the Department of Health and Human Services, said he had the government’s response to the new coronavirus “under control,” pointing out high-ranking jobs he had held in the department during the 2003 SARS outbreak and other infectious threats. “I know this playbook well,” he told reporters. 

Can you imagine a Super Bowl champion quarterback saying, “Don’t worry. I’ve been in the Super Bowl before. I’ve got this handled.” Of course not. Athletes understand that every game is different and that they need to revisit their playbook continually, or they risk losing. Any student of history knows that hubris is a critical weakness. Unfortunately, we found out that Mr. Azar not only did not know this playbook well, but he also didn’t truly understand what game he was playing. And in fairness, how could he? This was all unprecedented. But his pride let him believe otherwise. A good executive coach would have seen this immediately and helped him challenge his thinking and approach.  

2. Leaders who don’t understand and address their biases and unconscious orientations and beliefs will make critical mistakes because of them

The concept of emotional intelligence (EQ) has been around for some time. EQ is a highly sought after and valued leadership trait. When we work with leaders to help them develop EQ, we start by helping them understand themselves. Until one understands their own biases and default patterns, they cannot be sensitive to the emotional needs of others or lead effectively – especially under pressure. The above-mentioned New York Times article highlights a classic recipe for dysfunction in the conflicting orientations of Azar and Dr. Redfield – a longtime AIDS researcher who directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Mr. Azar’s take-charge style contrasted with the more deliberative manner of Dr. Redfield… [Redfield] was ‘a consensus person,’ as one colleague described him, who sought to avoid conflict.” This went unaddressed, and I doubt it was even discussed openly. And the predictable impact of this difference in styles was mistrust and operating in silos: “Mr. Azar became convinced that Dr. Redfield’s agency was providing him with inaccurate information about testing that the secretary (Azar) repeated publicly, according to several administration officials.” It is clear that the lack of emotional intelligence and the default orientation of these leaders – which went unaddressed – played a significant role in the critical mistakes we have witnessed in the handling of this crisis. 

Yet another stark example of where patterns and unconscious bias defied logic was with Dr. Stephen Hahn, 60, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “Dr. Hahn took a cautious approach. He was not proactive in reaching out to manufacturers, and instead deferred to his scientists, following the FDA’s often cumbersome methods for approving medical screening.” Given the scale of the crisis and the risks well-known to all, this is further evidence of how powerful the unconscious orientations are in driving behavior. Again, a skilled coach would have noted this and brought it out into the open for dialogue and consideration. 

3. By definition, leadership is interactive; leaders who don’t work on HOW they interact will ultimately be ineffective

Intelligence is overrated. No matter how high a leader’s IQ is, their impact is determined by the quality of their interactions with others. Great leaders understand that no matter how much authority they have, their leadership is always a game of influence, and one’s level of influence is always a function of the quality of interactions with others. Early mistakes in preparing for the outbreak were exacerbated and unbalanced by historical conflicts with other vital functions that remain unaddressed. “Mr. Azar, 52, who chaired the coronavirus task force until late February, when Vice President Mike Pence took charge, had been at odds for months with the White House over other issues.”  

If we think of the White House as an Executive Board, it’s easy to see how those dynamics might have led Mr. Azar to be even more entrenched and fear-based in his interactions than he might have been otherwise. A good coach would have helped him work on his communication style and prepare for difficult conversations. When we work with clients, we often role-play critical conversations so that people bring their most skillful selves to the dialogue. Had work like this occurred, it would have lowered the intensity of his limbic response and therefore improved the effectiveness of all of his interactions.

Now add to this mix the complexities with the FDA, and we have another area where a lack of alignment in orientation and focus undermined effective interaction: “[Dr. Hahn] enforced regulations that paradoxically made it tougher for hospitals, private clinics, and companies to deploy diagnostic tests in an emergency.” Clearly, the FDA was interacting as a gatekeeper, not an enabler. 

4. Technical expertise is not leadership expertise

In many organizations, leaders rise through the ranks over time, yet what makes someone successful early on, rarely translates to success later in their career. For example, in a law firm, a good junior associate will not necessarily make a good partner because the demands of the job change radically. While every leader must understand the business they are leading, it is rarely the case that the best technical leaders make the best organizational leaders, and vice versa. Before his appointment to lead the CDC in 2018, Dr. Robert Redfield, a longtime AIDS researcher, had no experience running a government agency. While Dr. Redfield’s experience as an Army officer and life as a scientist were, no doubt valuable, they didn’t prepare him for leading an organization of the scale and complexity of the CDC. I have to wonder whether Redfield acknowledged his lack of experience and actively sought mentorship to help him manage the complexities of the role he accepted. Based on the results, I have to believe that he presumed his knowledge of virology and epidemiology was sufficient for the task at hand — it was not.

5. Great leaders ask for and act on feedback – continuously

Even with all of the above in mind, great leaders understand that they cannot see themselves clearly. We are all blind to our own impact, so great leaders continually ask for feedback and then act on that feedback. I have yet to see any evidence that this is taking place amongst the leaders charged with addressing and resolving the current pandemic. Can you imagine any of these leaders asking their teams, “How did I show up in that conversation? Where are you noticing that I’m clear or unclear? Can you help me see what I’m doing well and not well in this situation?” When we work with CEOs dealing with a crisis, we debrief every meeting with questions like these so that every session gets better based on data. Corporate CEOs see that not as optional, but as essential, because if they don’t perform, they lose their jobs. They consistently ask for feedback from their customers, their employees, and their teams because they know they can’t lead effectively without that information.

I share the emerging view that the COVID-19 crisis will change the world forever. I am hopeful that it will change our social and political dynamics and ultimately make the world a better place. I am also optimistic that it will change people’s orientation to leadership and their willingness to be coached. No one knows everything, no one is perfect, and everyone has room for improvement. In the future, I hope that all leaders will accept that getting help is a sign of strength. That demonstrating vulnerability is a sign of courage, and I hope they will embrace the truth that the more significant and more complex the role, the more critical it is to ask for guidance and get a coach. 

If our government officials had understood that, we might all be facing a very different reality right now. We can and must do better.

It’s no longer, “How much can I get for how little I give?” It’s now, “How much can we give for all we get?” The next century must be the ecological century. We should begin by asking design questions that inspire our creativity and generate tremendous value.

In 2018, I established Reboot the Future, a small foundation with a big ambition. The foundation is helping to build a generation of people who refuse to believe the future is foreclosed, a generation that believes we can re-orientate our choices, our institutions, and our systems in the service of reciprocity, care, and hope — all inspired by a rule as ancient as humanity itself: Treat others and the planet as you would wish to be treated.

Part of how we do this is by curating and sharing alternative roadmaps for a better future, a process that began with my publication of Imaginal Cells: Visions of Transformation, which showcases thinking from some of the world’s leading visionaries. We start the ongoing serialization of that book with this piece by Bill McDonough, who has been one of the leading figures designing and defining the circular economy for the past 30 years. — Kim Polman

The Same Answers to The Same Questions Must Change

Things are not working. While 795 million people go hungry, one-third of our food gets wasted. This waste accounts for $940 billion in annual economic losses, requiring one-quarter of all the water used by agriculture, cropland the size of China, and generating roughly 8 percent of global greenhouse emissions. Much of the food itself comes wrapped or boxed in plastic, which leaks into the ocean at the rate of 8 million tons a year — joining the 150 million tons already floating off our shores. 

At current rates, the amount of all ocean-borne plastic will likely outweigh all the fish in the sea by the year 2050. This tide of waste drains our economies too. Nearly 95 percent of the material value of all that plastic packaging, roughly $120 billion annually, is lost after its first (and only) use.

This can’t continue. While billions enjoy the many benefits of sustained economic growth, the industrial system upon which we depend has disrupted and polluted the Earth. In dealing with this chaos today, we must do more than limit the negative impacts of industry and circulating toxic materials. We must move to a healthy, productive system where growth is valued, and there is no such thing as waste. Instead, why not strive to have a positive, beneficial impact on the planet with a virtuous economy, rather than being “less bad” within a destructive system? 

Good design allows us to do that by following the laws of nature. Rather than limit growth, we can grow in ways that replenish, restore, and nourish the world. There are many things we all want to grow: Education, health, opportunity, more clean water, fresh air, healthy food, and shared prosperity. Whatever positive aspiration we want to pursue, design gives us the capacity to cultivate good, regenerative growth. 

The circular economy doesn’t just minimize waste; it eliminates the very concept of waste and establishes cycles of endless resourcefulness. The economic benefits are substantial. A 2013 study by McKinsey & Company estimated that a transition to the circular economy in the European Union would provide $1 trillion in annual savings by 2025 and create 100,000 jobs within five years. 

The next century must be the ecological century. We should begin by asking design questions that inspire our creativity and generate tremendous value. How can this project make a positive difference in the life of the local community? How might it create habitat, nourish the landscape, and restore biodiversity? How much shared prosperity can we grow? This is how we wage peace through commerce.

Change is already underway. While it’s true that early adopters carry unique burdens, as is the case with any significant transformation, an emerging circular economy is starting to happen. This new economy is dependent upon a well-organized collaboration that extends throughout supply chains and across national borders. It realizes the opportunities to be found in cooperation at a depth and scale rarely seen in world affairs. If we look hard enough, we can see many inspiring models for the new industry of the 21st century that demonstrate community and company prosperity are intimately entwined. We all benefit when we support each other — future generations and the natural world.

To do so, we need to return to our original design values humbly. As we consider them through the lens of compassion, we see that the Golden Rule is not just for now, and it’s not just for us. It’s not just for some children and not just for some species, either. It’s a call to intergenerational compassion, an idea which might suggest “do unto your children as they would have you do unto them.” This idea is implicit in my book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things: “How do we love all the children of all of the species for all time?” 

As a designer, I believe this is the question of our time, one which will require cycles of endless compassion and creativity, as well as cycles of infinite resourcefulness. By cultivating abundance, generosity, and hope, rather than fear, limits, and greed, we will wage peace with commerce. This will reframe the fundamental question: “How much can I get for how little I give?” to “How much can we give for all we get?”n

William McDonough is a globally recognized designer, thought leader, sustainable growth pioneer, and a member of the board of directors of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University. RebootTheFuture.org

Editors Note: Real Leaders is making its archive of magazines freely available to all visitors to our website as part of our contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic. We believe you’ll emerge stronger and wiser when this crisis passes, and we hope our stories will keep you entertained and inspired while we sit out this challenging time. Sign up here and you’ll be instantly redirected to our archive.

CEO and executive are moving into an uncertain future. We can find ourselves a little lost in the new world we’re living in, merely reacting to or overwhelmed by the externalities of the Covid pandemic. We see firsthand how employees and leaders alike are challenged to maintain their centeredness while the floor is falling around them. 

When we talk about the radical changes to our routines, the bulk of what we focus on is safety first and technical solutions for virtual work. While these are important, it is also vital that we design into our routines ways that will allow us to consider our humanity and sense of wellbeing.

That thought has led me to wonder — what could it look like for us to use this moment to design a work experience that enhances our human capacities, needs, aspirations, and values – even in this challenging time? Below are three elements I believe will be essential for organizational leaders to consider toward this end: 

1. Human Moments

This moment of virtual work in isolation will require we design for deeper human connections, not just digital expertise. Digital interaction is now the new normal, but I believe what will set apart leaders at this moment are not how good we are at the technical side of virtual work, but how able we are to foster empathy, care, connection and a feeling of belonging — things that technology cannot do for us.

Before starting your calls and meetings for the day, ask yourself: “What opportunities do I have to be a little more human and a little more caring today?” When you are in a meeting, starting a meeting, or talking to a colleague, ask yourself, “what small acts of kindness or connections can I make right now?” Do you know what this moment means for them? In my experience, it can be a simple as closing another browser, stop the sharing of your screen, and being as present as you can be with the other person. 

2. Creating Belonging

Our new work reality is directly in conflict with our innate needs as social creatures who rely on social connecting and the signals we get from nonverbal cues to understand our environment. Belonging and social connection is vital. This is why I believe we will need to design for our life in this new reality for more, not less, human connection.

In the middle of all the stressful changes in our lives, it might feel impossible to find space to connect with the people around us. Yet even small gestures of kindness and connection, can have a positive effect on others. Human connection is the foundation to virtual teams functioning and of building the kind of trust that technology cannot create for us.

Explore when we can create new online spaces and find time calendar gaps for connecting. For example, give yourself an extra 10 minutes to check in with your teams. Design meetings that address team uncertainty, and encourage employees to attend on video so you can better read nonverbal cues and find ways to signal calm through your body language. I believe the more we design work around humanness of this moment, the more permission we give others to follow suit.

3. The Need to Decompress

Given the endless onslaught of news and information about Covid-19, creating space to decompress is vital – now more than ever. Our current environments are impacting our mental health and wellbeing, with constant news alerts on social media and TV. Now is a great time to build good habits and practice breathing and meditation — which could become central to how we maintain our wellbeing.

Just as we schedule our Zoom meetings, we need to schedule time to restore and unplug. It’s merely a matter of prioritizing it. The same goes for your teams. Encourage people to take a few moments to breathe and meditate. Tapping into the rhythms of our breath and calming our mind can allow us to find the center in the storm.

While so many things are out of our control – we also have some agency in design the reality we want through things that are in our control. Too often, technology and urgent situations determine how our lives are run and our teams. Now is a moment when leaders and their teams can rethink and experiment with ways to build a better future of work might — and in doing so, help our organizations through this time of stress and uncertainty. 

Editors Note: Real Leaders is making its archive of magazines freely available to all visitors to our website as part of our contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic. We believe you’ll emerge stronger and wiser when this crisis passes, and we hope our stories will keep you entertained and inspired while we sit out this challenging time. Sign up here and you’ll be instantly redirected to our archive.

Millions of leaders around the world are being confronted with a daunting task – leading their teams, businesses, functions, and organization during COVID-19. Here are some tips on how to do this effectively.

Leading a 21st-century company already presented an arguably unprecedented challenge, given the increasing complexity and accelerating rate of change. However, COVID-19 is dramatically increasing the demand for leadership capacity, from extreme economic uncertainty to stress, anxiety, frustration, and an extraordinary disruption in daily living reality. To lead through this historic moment effectively, leaders need to show up as the very best versions of themselves – calm, confident, decisive, optimistic, and energetic.

But leaders are human beings too. They are flesh and blood, and experience emotions and stress like anyone else. The good news is that they also have the inherent ability to rise in the face of significant challenges. And we now have access to scientifically based insights, skills, and strategies that can allow us to dramatically enhance our ability to maintain the optimal state of mind that enables successful leadership behaviors.

It all starts with self-care. Perhaps an essential commitment a leader can make to showing up as the best version of yourself is expressed by this approach: “Put your mask on first before putting a mask on someone else.” Even as a successful and experienced leader, your nervous system has its limits. And, regardless of how much “grit” you can muster and how generous your intentions are to set your well-being aside while attending to others, if (and when) you do cross beyond your limits, the cost can be considerable. It could take you into a mental state that usually results in the exact opposite of good leadership behaviors. And the accumulation could also lead to a severe toll on your mental, emotional, and physical well-being, including your immune system.

That said, it is essential that when leading through a crisis that you have a realistic and practical plan to: 1) process the high levels of stress as the day unfolds 2) Boost high-performance emotions such as optimism, calm and confidence, and 3) increase your capacity for concentration, creative thinking, and effective communication. To ensure your plan is realistic and sustainable, follow these three practices. All are easy to learn and can be achieved in a total of 20-30 minutes throughout the day. Many can be performed in 2-5 minute increments:

Move and Stretch. I was intentional here in not using the word “exercise.” This is not necessarily about hopping on a Peloton or streaming an intensive workout. Even short intervals of movement practiced inside your house or apartment can have numerous benefits. Neuroscience has now proven that moving our bodies releases a series of neurotransmitters into our brain — serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine — that expand our ability to absorb and release stress, increase our capacity to concentrate and think creatively and create feelings of self-confidence, self-efficacy, and safety. So much of business interaction is telecommunication now. So when a meeting is a phone call, consider walking as you take the call. If you are at home with your kids and taking a break to spend time with them, perhaps engage in an activity that facilitates you to move in some way. Get creative: there are so many ways you can incorporate some movement into your day. 

Practice Gratitude Rituals. Research about gratitude reveals that this activity is not just pop-psychology but grounded in hard science. By engaging in intentional gratitude exercises, we can release stress, increase optimism, energy, and enthusiasm, strengthen our immune system, and enhance our interpersonal skills — all critical factors for leading in a crisis. The best part is that all of these benefits can be gained in only minutes: choose to focus on something we are grateful for. As humans, we are not wired toward gratitude in the best of times (sad but true). But during a crisis, we might be even more apt to focus only on all that’s wrong. That takes an enormous negative toll on our mental and emotional state. Consider leveraging one of the many gratitude apps, a gratitude journal, or perhaps placing a picture in a strategic place to build in moments of gratitude that break up your day. I can assure you: you won’t regret it.

Practice Slow, Controlled Breathing. Mindfulness and meditation have certainly shifted from new age to the business mainstream. When leading in a crisis, take a few minutes once or twice a day to practice some controlled breathing. Doing so will instantly release stress, allows you re-center, and remove cognitive overload. It provides a sense of calm and enables you to be far more present when engaging with your team. Many apps provide short guiding breathing exercises. Or, try this strategy used by our military: Find a comfortable and quiet place to sit. Observe and count your breath to the cadence of 4 seconds (in-breath), and 4 seconds (out-breath). Repeat four times. 

As we search for silver linings in these extraordinarily difficult circumstances, one is that working from home or in a very sparsely populated office should facilitate these kinds of micro-breaks. I recommend starting your day with one of these practices, working in another around mid-morning, and then again mid-afternoon. Remember that stress and emotions like fear and anger continuously accumulate throughout the day if they do not have a release. By committing to these simple behaviors, you will ensure you maintain your best self while engaging with your colleagues during the day. And you will also be the best version of yourself when fully re-engaging with your loved ones at the end of it — not to mention giving your Immune system a much-needed boost.

Learn more at optimumassociates.com

I’ve worked alongside my husband, Todd, since 1997, and believe the principles we’ve developed to thrive during our work day have enriched our marriage. I hope incorporating these practical lessons will cause you to look back on this season and see it as a springboard for a healthier relationship.

1. Determine house rules: Do we work after dinner? Do we talk about work before morning coffee? Do we bring computers and files into the bedroom? Expectations are like pre-meditated resentments, so the more we communicate what is important, the healthier our day goes.

2. Support work flow, by not interrupting each other. Todd and I each have a list that accumulates our thoughts and questions throughout the day. That way we can address them later without distracting each other in the moment.

3. Don’t offer feedback unless asked. It’s easy to want to weigh in on something you overhear, but without knowing the history, the people, or the nuance of the circumstance, your feedback might discourage progress, instead of offering a new perspective.

4. Make a plan the night before so shared responsibilities, like childcare or meal prep, are clear before the day begins.

5. When your partner is angry, recognize anger is a secondary emotion, often sitting on top of fear and frustration. Be a sounding board, ask clarifying questions, listen, and give freedom for them to take a break without judgment. Your response, rather than reaction, to their negative emotion might be the key to turning around their day.

6. Stay interdependent. It can be tempting to be independent, and do our own thing throughout the day. But that requires an abrupt transition when later, in the same space, with the same person, we are supposed to be emotionally and relationally connected. Equally as harmful is co-dependence, where my feelings about the day are tied to yours. Between independent and co-dependent is the much healthier interdependent, which allows for individual responsibilities and agendas, while maintaining the shared goal of communication and concern for the other.

7. Work to keep interactions from being transactional. We are used to having conversations at the office coffee station, or asking a colleague about their plans. In this season of working alongside one another, don’t forget to be relational and supportive: cheer on their progress and be curious about their interests.

8. Practice immediacy. When there is conflict, we are tempted to think we only have two options: fight or reconcile, but in the middle of a busy work day there isn’t always the luxury of time to talk things through. Immediacy is the skill of maintaining the relationship while there are differences, and is actually more important than solving the conflict itself. It’s knowing we might have more to hash out, but in the meantime, we respect each other enough to not jeopardize the relationship or hijack their workday. After a rough day or feeling like there is lingering frustration, be sure to say, “I know we’ve had some hard conversation. You’re more important than whatever that was about. Are we ok?”

9. Look for opportunities to serve one another. That might mean taking a call outside, or getting the other a drink when we are up, or running to the printer for the other. The more pleasant and others-centered we are, the less tense the work environment.

10. Take a break. There is a cost to working in a shared space, but there’s also a benefit. Exploit that benefit by sneaking in some moments to play, eat, be intimate, and all around recreate, in the middle of a busy day, in a busy season, in a time of unknown. When you look back at this, you’ll want to remember how you enjoyed working back-to-back.

We don’t know how long this will last, but just as it’s giving us an opportunity to re-evaluate our exercise habits, spending habits, organization and eating, it could also be the best thing to happen to our relationships, as we create a rhythm in the household we want to wake up in- not only now, but also when this crisis passes.

Editors Note: Real Leaders is making its archive of magazines freely available to all visitors to our website as part of our contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic. We believe you’ll emerge stronger and wiser when this crisis passes, and we hope our stories will keep you entertained and inspired while we sit out this challenging time. Sign up here and you’ll be instantly redirected to our archive.

Years ago, I met a six-year-old who would become one of my greatest teachers. “Melissa” showed me what real leadership is all about.

Back then, I volunteered at a rehabilitation facility in Morristown, NJ, assisting a gifted physical therapist in a heated pool while she used the warm water to stretch the muscles of children challenged with cerebral palsy and other muscular disorders. When Melissa arrived for the last session of the day, I remember her waiting patiently for her turn in the pool. Her calm demeanor and watchful eyes caught my attention. She remained still as she seemed to be quietly taking everything in. But when we got her in the pool, her energy shifted at the same time as her smile lit up the room.

When we started the session, she displayed a discipline and focus on her task that matched any of the best leaders I had ever known. She had clarity about her one goal—she wanted to extend both arms together to enable her hands to grasp a small sponge basketball, drop it in a floating net, and score two points. At first, both of her hands were rigidly held close to her shoulders. During her first session, we were able to get just one arm to relax—and it moved only a few inches. She was determined, but patient. Melissa gave it 100%, but this was going to be a long process.

In subsequent weeks, I looked forward to Melissa’s session. Of our many times in the pool together, I particularly remember the impact she had on me when she spoke. Her words were always positive, and she seemed to use them to help create her future.

I also remember how others were affected by Melissa. We all watched as Melissa entered the water with that same enthusiasm every time. Staff would stop to peek in to see her progress. Her passion and zest were contagious—she influenced everyone around her.

It took Melissa nearly six months to reach her goal. When she finally succeeded, she let out a cry of joy that I can still hear to this day. She reminded me that those with disabilities have amazing abilities to share with those of us whose challenges aren’t as visible. She is what I refer to as a Chief.

Melissa served as a role model in so many ways. She sure helped me, even when I started with the belief that I was there to serve her. She reminded me that real power has nothing to do with your title or position. It’s focused on influence, clarity, energy, confidence, and impact.

In the second edition of Be Chief: It’s a Choice, Not a Title, I share tips and tools to help anyone understand, measure, increase, and spread real power. And in Melissa’s honor, I’m donating 100% of the author proceeds to Easterseals in support of their mission to help everyone become Chiefs.

Editors Note: Real Leaders is making its archive of magazines freely available to all visitors to our website as part of our contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic. We believe you’ll emerge stronger and wiser when this crisis passes, and we hope our stories will keep you entertained and inspired while we sit out this challenging time. Sign up here and you’ll be instantly redirected to our archive.

Dr. Daniel Siegel, psychiatrist and author, defines trauma as anything that overwhelms the capacity to cope. We know an ever-changing world, with the unknown and lack of routine, may trigger employees who have experienced past trauma, and may trigger the children within their homes. How can we help them not only manage their remote working logistics, but also the emotional toll this crisis extracts? 

Children take cues from the adults in their life on how to cope with their environment. This establishes co-regulation and, over time, builds a child’s ability to self-regulate. Self-regulation allows a child to manage emotion, control impulses, recover from distress, and maintain attention and focus without the help of another person. However, when someone has experienced trauma — like what is happening all around the world right now — there is a heightened response to distress and a tendency towards dysregulation. 

Because you desire a healthy home in which employees can rest and remain productive, consider sharing these trauma-informed principles to guide them in leading their households through COVID-19. When we are intentional and address the emotional needs of others, we can be a non-anxious presence!

• Stress weakens our immune system, making us more susceptible to illness. In the midst of all our hand-washing, we can pay attention to the tone of our voices and the condition of our hearts, asking ourselves: Am I taking care of myself? Am I adding to, or reducing, the levels of the stress in my home? 

• A dehydrated brain is an irritated brain. Drinking water is a great way to flush our system and is an infection-preventing practice.  We also know hydration is an effective intervention for aggression. Am I paying attention to how much water I am drinking? 

• Connection helps regulate emotions. This is a great opportunity to use discretionary time and establish connection with close friends and family. Am I looking more at the people I live with, or at a screen? How well am I listening to their concerns and ideas? 

• Families stick together. Let children know if one person in your household is sick, they won’t be alone. Isolation can be an emotional trigger for both children and adults, so “social distancing” and “quarantine” are words that might produce anxiety. When left without a plan, children write their own narratives. Having a strategy for what happens if someone does get sick, will go a long way towards minimizing stress. 

• A regulated parent helps inform a child’s response in any new and unsure circumstance. Staying calm when talking about the situation is critical.  When the adult has big feelings, the children follow, so ask yourself: When my emotions are out of control and I feel dysregulated, what can I do? Who can I share them with safely? What information do I need? What is my own pathway to regulation? 

• Maintaining routine increases felt safety. We need to do all we can to keep activities predictable, so adults and children sense stability. Have a plan for the day, and communicate it the night before, so everyone can “wake up and know” the expectation. Even simple details like meal planning will give the day a sense of certainty. 

• Carefully explain changes. Make sure children have warning and explanation on what to expect, whether it’s about school, vacation, or childcare. The situation is rapidly changing and all the uncertainty can cause even otherwise emotionally healthy children to feel insecure. Answer their questions, give them time to grieve what they are missing, and infuse your language with a gratitude that what you are experiencing, you are experiencing together. 

• Be fully present and actively listen to one another. It’s important to take the time to hear your household’s concerns and answer their questions with developmentally appropriate answers. We know from science, that being heard by someone who has given you their full attention, and is without judgement, is profoundly healing.  This is one significant way we can redeem all the time this outbreak has robbed from us: if we come out on the other end being better listeners and feeling heard, we will be healthier for it. 

• Limit your children’s viewing of the media coverage. Children may not understand what they see or hear, so let their information come from you.  It’s tempting to watch news coverage throughout the day, but there’s a difference between hearing something an authority is disseminating and something an “expert” is expressing. There are lots of experts being interviewed about how, what, when and where this will impact us next. Sorting through all the information overload can increase stress in the household. Determine what is healthy for your family, and limit what is consumed. 

•  Offer your family choices. At a time when some things in life may feel out of our control, offering our family members choices can help. What should we have for dinner?  Do you want to eat it at the table or picnic style in the living room? Do you want to take a walk, or a drive, or a bike ride? 

This is a season when we are learning nationally how critical “we” is over “me.” We are making choices for the greater good: we are sacrificing so everyone is safer. It would be a waste to stretch those muscles for the benefit of those outside our home and then ignore the needs of those most important to us. This virus is costing a lot. We should demand something of value in return, which is empathy for others, connection with family, an outward focus.  

These are gifts we can appreciate for the rest of our lives, long after COVID-19 has become a memory