Today, leaders of professional service organizations \u2014 like law firms, corporate law and tax departments, and tax & accounting firms \u2014 are intensely focused on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite their best efforts, many leaders are telling me that their people are experiencing high levels of stress, anxiety, fear, and emotional overload. That\u2019s not surprising, given the pace and magnitude of the changes affecting us all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This crisis definitely has psychological consequences \u2014 specifically, it has upended our basic needs for predictability, control, and human connection, and has thereby generated enormous stress while reducing our sense of well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this two-part article, I\u2019ll explain why and how the crisis disrupts these needs. I\u2019ll then explain what you as a leader can do to help restore that well-being and ensure that your decisions and actions land in the best possible way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Any crisis creates disruption, but the disruption is usually limited to one realm or another. The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted almost every aspect of our lives all at once, and it\u2019s done so fairly suddenly. We\u2019re all feeling potential threats to our health, our finances, and our relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While you can\u2019t control the course of the virus and the global consequences it causes, many of you are already taking wise remedial steps to respond to the disruption, such as insuring social distancing, providing tech resources for team members that are working remotely, ensuring continuity of service to clients, increasing communication, and making sure that your people are okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But taking the right steps is only part of effective leadership. It\u2019s equally essential to pay attention to how <\/em>you communicate and execute those steps. Your mindset, your pace, your empathy \u2014 all of these have an impact on how effective your leadership actions will be, and on how receptive your people will be to your actions. Your style and tone influence whether your people will experience predictability, control, and connection, or just the opposite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s take a look at the three needs that I\u2019ve mentioned:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a crisis, people hunger for predictability. We need to know what to expect. Uncertainty is not all bad \u2014 our brains rely on it as a signal that a threat is imminent. But escalating uncertainty can trigger anxiety (which is basically fear about an unknown future). When anxiety is elevated, our ability to problem-solve and think rationally declines, our capacity to connect with others is inhibited, and our immune response is weakened. One antidote is to focus our attention on the things that remain predictable in order to provide at least some stability. Here are three examples of how to do that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Create small pockets of predictability \u2014 <\/em>Establish a regular, periodic briefing time, for example, so that people have a regular<\/em> expectation that they\u2019ll be updated about critical information at the same time each day, each week, etc. I recommend doing this even if there\u2019s nothing new to report. Steps like this can create a pocket of predictability. Also, ensure that messaging to your people from different leaders is consistent. Nothing kills predictability like mixed messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remind your people of those things that remain stable and predictable \u2014 <\/em>Remind people regularly about resources that remain available and operational. When our attention is only focused on the uncertainty, it feeds fear; but if you can also re-direct peoples\u2019 attention to things that remain unchanged, it can be reassuring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Be a role model by managing your own fears \u2014 <\/em>Role-modeling is a powerful tool, particularly in a crisis. In times of uncertainty, people look to their leaders for cues about how to react. Leaders need to remain calm, focused, and authentic. Let people know what steps you are taking, for example. And before you speak, ask yourself if others will receive your demeanor as reassuring or as alarming. Even bad news can be conveyed in a way that reassures people that you\u2019re on top of it. Your steadiness and emotional honesty can be one of the most important ways you have to restore a sense of calm and predictability among your people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In general, most people want autonomy, that is, to feel like we exert some control<\/em> \u2014 that we have at least some significant input into our lives as they unfold. We want choices. (My research shows that lawyers have an even greater<\/em> need for this than does the general public.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n This current pandemic crisis has disrupted our autonomy already in a number of ways \u2014 for example, federal, state, and local governments have all issued warnings to maintain social distancing and to self-quarantine. They\u2019ve made a number of other recommendations that limit our freedom in the name of protecting everyone\u2019s health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But at the same time, luckily, the crisis offers new opportunities for autonomy \u2014 if we capitalize on them. For example, many of us are working from home with the added autonomy that this practice brings.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPredictability<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Control<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n