Leadership in a crisis – lessons from the Coronavirus outbreak by McKinsey
As we get used to the new post covid 19 life and start accepting our new working and living environment, we also start reflecting on the numerous lessons that we can learn from this crisis. The way our political and business leaders have been tested is unlike anything we have seen in a generation. It is worth considering what attributes and skills have made a difference.
This article by Mckinsey does exactly that- Leadership in a crisis: Responding to the coronavirus outbreak and future challenges. I strongly recommend it, because I feel it addresses the unusual nature of this crisis and it emphasizes character as a source of exemplary leadership. I transcribed in this blog the sections where these qualities are best described: deliberate calm, bounded optimism, an iterative approach to handling the crisis, avoiding overreaction, and how transparency and frequent communication made an impact on people.
“What leaders need during a crisis is not a predefined response plan but behaviors and mindsets that will prevent them from overreacting to yesterday’s developments and help them look ahead.
In routine emergencies, experience is perhaps the most valuable quality that leaders bring. But in novel, landscape-scale crises, character is of the utmost importance. Crisis-response leaders must be able to unify teams behind a single purpose and frame questions for them to investigate. The best will display several qualities. One is “deliberate calm,” the ability to detach from a fraught situation and think clearly about how one will navigate it. Deliberate calm is most often found in well-grounded individuals who possess humility but not helplessness.
Another important quality is “bounded optimism,” or confidence combined with realism. Early in a crisis, if leaders display excessive confidence in spite of obviously difficult conditions, they can lose credibility. It is more effective for leaders to project confidence that the organization will find a way through its tough situation but also show that they recognize the crisis’s uncertainty and have begun to grapple with it by collecting more information. When the crisis has passed, then optimism will be more beneficial (and can be far less bounded).
Waiting for a full set of facts to emerge before determining what to do is another common mistake that leaders make during crises. Because a crisis involves many unknowns and surprises, facts may not become clear within the necessary decision-making time frame. But leaders should not resort to using their intuition alone. Leaders can better cope with uncertainty by continually collecting information as the crisis unfolds and observing how well their responses work. This iterative approach to pause-assess- anticipate- act should be ongoing and will help leaders maintain that state of deliberate clam and avoid overreacting (…).
Demonstrating empathy: Dealing with the human tragedy as a first priority. In a landscape-scale crisis, people’s minds turn first to their own survival and other basic needs. Leaders (…) should address these questions directly and uphold a vital aspect of their role: making a positive difference in people’s lives.
Communicating effectively: Maintaining transparency and provide frequent updates. Crisis communications from leaders often hit the wrong notes. Time and again, we see leaders taking an overconfident, upbeat tone in the early stages of a crisis—and raising stakeholders’ suspicions about what leaders know and how well they are handling the crisis. Authority figures are also prone to suspend announcements for long stretches while they wait for more facts to emerge and decisions to be made.
Neither approach is reassuring. As Amy Edmondson recently wrote, “Transparency is ‘job one’ for leaders in a crisis. Be clear what you know, what you don’t know, and what you are doing to learn more.” Thoughtful, frequent communication shows that leaders are following the situation and adjusting their responses as they learn more. This helps them reassure stakeholders that they are confronting the crisis. Leaders should take special care to see that each audience’s concerns, questions, and interests are addressed. Having members of the crisis- response team speak firsthand about what they are doing can be particularly effective.”
