36. The 7 Traits of Crisis Leadership
All business leaders got challenged by the Coronavirus. Here are the 7 traits of those that rose above.
COVID-19 And It's Impact
Holy crap!!
Whether the COVID-19 outbreak was all foreshadowed by Dean Koontz in 1981 or not, it's here and it's real.
Here’s the thing.. in order to stop the spread of COVID-19, we are told to avoid large public gatherings. But let’s face facts folks, there are quite a few industries (coughsportscough) that exist for the sole purpose of creating large public gatherings.
Ummmm.... Houston, we have a problem. At least for the short term. And in the realm of humanity, it definitely will be just a short term problem.
Why? Because we are a community that thrives despite what the world throws at us.
Crisis Mode
That said, we are in a crisis. There is fear, but that is ok. Fear is normal for such situations.
What I'd like to do is give you some thoughts on how you can rise above the fear.
There are certain best practices we all need to know and follow. These best practices will help reduce your stress, reduce your loss, and increase your chance to flourish in the future.
Over the next days and weeks I will post information and recommendations on those best practices. This includes:
Planning
Canceling an event with little to no backlash
Effective communication strategies
and more
Let me start with the qualities of leadership.
The 7 Required Qualities of Crisis Leadership
Every best practice we talk about means nothing without strong leadership.
There are seven qualities that define good leadership, especially in times of crisis. They are:
Clear communicator
Decisive
Strategic
Goal-oriented
Calm
Ability to prioritize
Critical thinker
I am not going to describe each one because you are smart enough to figure them out. What I am going to ask is that you take 2 minutes to think of how you can better embody each leadership quality.
Don't just nod your head and say you'll do it. Do it.
Now.
I'll wait.
OK....we're going to refer back to these qualities when we talk about communication, cancellation and more.
Look for more shortly
We’re going to get through this. And we're going to be stronger because of it.
That, I know.