Leading through the COVID-19 crisis

Richard Frost

Quick fire introductions…..

Name

Role & location

Current situation – you working

from home, going into the office?

Where are you now?

What’s your passion in life?

Our session: ethos

• Created by the HR team to give peer-level leaders an opportunity

to chat about leading in this new environment

• These discussions are confidential to this group, informal,

discussion and ideas led

• Processes, policies and the logistics of T&C’s etc. ask your HR

Business Partner

Our session: agendaOver the next hour this is an opportunity to:

• Introduce ourselves to each other

• Share Penspen resources to help you manage your teams effectively

• Examine headlines on leadership in crisis situations

• Share tips and get an insight into the research on leading effective

virtual teams

• Have a discussion with peers on your experiences so far

Research, anecdotal evidence, tips & advice

Headlines.

‘Landscape-scale crises can also create mass-

scale trauma responses’

‘In such circumstances demonstrating highly visible and

caring leadership becomes even more important.

Paradoxically, this is also when leaders are predisposed to

busy themselves with urgent meetings and operational

issues’

‘COVID-19 strips leadership back to its most fundamental

element: making a positive difference in people’s lives’

Headlines

1 -3 management tasks

4– 6 Leadership behaviours:

• Building trust and social

cohesion

• Demonstrating awareness,

vulnerability, empathy and

compassion

Tips & advice…

Respond to the specific challenges of remote teams• Video-conferencing v audio or written communication (beware of ‘Zoom Gloom’)

• Compensate for physical distance between team members increasing the sharing of

information, context and nuance

• 75% of communication is non-verbal; be careful of your body language

Build cohesion and trust• Explicitly ask virtual teams to share their feedback or expectations about how the team

should collaborate (they are part of making this a success)

• Invest in team-building sessions to improve social relations and clarify roles (PODS etc.)

• Don’t let parts of the team fall ‘between the cracks’ (introverts, reflectors)

• Refrain from sharing negative feedback with the team unless necessary

• Pick up the phone; talk, even just for 5 minutes about non-business related subjects

Tips & advice…

Teach teams how to work together and co-ordinate• Don’t allow silo’s to widen; get your teams talking to other teams

• Share tips on how to use video-conferencing effectively

• Provide appropriate tools to help co-ordination and project management.

• Encourage the team to define the rules on how often, how quickly and how transparently the

team communicates.

Ensure effective information-sharing• Support teams with tools and facilitate the collective team memory (don’t let it all go through you)

• Facilitate debriefing sessions: where it’s worked and where it hasn’t

Tips & advice…

Technology• Understand your technology

• Make sure faces are visible

• Stick to meetings best practice (pre-read, agenda, timings, breaks etc.)

• Minimise presentation length

• Use icebreakers

• Call on people (go round the table)

• Have a practice

Leadership• Consider your strengths and development areas now leadership has changed for the

foreseeable future

• Be aware that the leadership skills of compassion, humility and empathy raise up in terms of

importance during these times

• Look for signs of anxiety/ depression/ struggle – create an open environment where people can

talk about their mental, physical and emotional wellbeing (use all of the resources available or

ask HR/Comms team for help)

Leadership forum

Leader Forum

Let’s take some time to chat about your observations

of the circumstance we find ourselves in…..

• What has been your professional work experience

so far during the crisis?

• Have you seen changes in how you lead?

• What has worked, not worked?

• What tips do you have for the group?

• What challenges do you still have?

Thoughts to leave with you

· People managers have to work even harder to communicate and ensure the team stays

together as a team

· Take note of people’s mood – are they struggling – reach out to them individually

· Ensure that people feel it’s ok to talk about how they are feeling

· Use the resources available, or ask HR if you are struggling to support an employee

· Through this time our job is not just about getting the task done through our teams, but

about looking after their physical, emotional and social needs and showing true leadership.

Pick up the phone to your team; make sure you are engaging and asking them how they

are

· People will remember how they are treated through this crisis, your team will stronger if they

see us trying to do the right things

Thank you

If you would like further information please contact:

Richard Frost

Email: hello@peopleperform.co.uk

Tel: 0333 577 1319