Managing a team during uncertain times: effective leadership in a crisis

A crisis may affect different teams differently. For a sales team, it might be a drop in sales, for an event management team a pandemic like Covid-19 that cancels all social events, for any other team the fact the company was bought by a new mother company, causing uncertainty. One thing is certain: a crisis reveals the true qualities of a team manager. The manager is the one who needs to calm the team down and lead them through the crisis in the most effective way. Here are some tips on how this is done.

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Transparent communication

According to Entrepreneur.com, the most important thing is to communicate transparently. If you withhold information from subordinates or try to sugarcoat everything to excess, they will notice. And they will become even more nervous. Do not alarm subordinates unnecessarily, but at the same time be honest with them and do not downplay the situation.

Involve everyone

When solving a crisis, you must involve everyone. The ongoing situation often impacts all members of the team, which is why they all need to join together in a common effort. Moreover, by involving everyone you give the employees an opportunity to contribute to the solution of the problem. They will thus not feel so powerless as if they have nothing to do but wait helplessly to see what happens next.

Clear plan

Though the situation may seem hopeless, there are definitely some steps you can take in order to mitigate its impact or prevent anything from having such a devastating impact on your team again in the future. It is your task as team manager to state clearly what happens next and offer a plan to get out of the situation or reduce its impact.

Opportunities

Every crisis also brings opportunities. Even a seemingly negative and devastating situation offers a chance to learn something new or review current procedures. Help your subordinates see something positive in the situation and together find a way to exploit it to the maximum.



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Article source Entrepreneur.com - website of a leading U.S. magazine for entrepreneurs
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