How do we lead our teams and keep those on the frontlines strong mentally through crisis? This was our topic this week on our weekly free webinar, Managing the Mayhem. This week we had two very special panelists, Jane Li, a registered nurse, and Executive Director Tanya Koshowski, both who are working on the frontlines of COVID19 presently. This blog post summarizes our conversation with them.
Here are five ways to keep our teams mentally strong through crisis.
Keep communication strong
Right now it is imperative to keep your communication with your team strong through daily debriefing, check ins, updating your staff on anything they need to know in a clear, consistent way while being present and available. Leading your team before business as usual starts to check in and asking questions such as, “How can I support you?” go a long way right now. It’s not business as usual. Caring for our teams must remain our highest priority.
Authentically lead your team
Many leaders think they need to appear strong and put together for their team, but the truth is there is nothing wrong with being honest about how you are feeling through this as well. The timing of when you do this is important. When there’s a job to do, our teams need leaders who are leading and getting the job done, but this is why having a weekly check in with the team to update one another around how we are doing mentally and emotionally is a great time to be authentic about your own journey through COVID19. Naming emotions bring them out of chaos and allows our teams to be more productive than if we didn’t. This becomes even more important during crisis.
Get anchored in your safe place
Do you as a leader have a safe space where you can “crumble and reset” as Tanya Koshowski states? A place where you can unload from the day? As Jane Li says, it doesn’t need to be a physical space. It can be found in a safe friend, a place you go to mentally or emotionally. Setting this into your routine as a time when you will get anchored each day so you can be ready to lead your team through any storm that may come your way that day. Grounding ourselves means we can show up for our people.
Over Appreciate
Right now many are feeling the weight of the crisis, especially those leading teams and working on the frontlines. Noticing your staff’s hard work, sending notes of thanks, and appreciating their work can make all the difference in your team today.
We want to thank our panelists Jane Li and Tanya Koshowski for joining us this week. Watch our webinar on our YouTube Channel here
Please join us every Wednesday noon MST as we continue to help managers, human resources, business owners, CEO’s, Executive Directors, and team members know how to be resilient through COVID19.
Free registration here.
